


Rise

by Uncommon_Aura



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: F/M, It's also pretty vanilla and will probably be the only NSFW thing in this fic, Multi, Other, Self Insert, Self Insert OC - Freeform, Selfship, Selfshipping, There's NSFW/sex in one of the chapters but it's an optional chapter that you don't have to read, jak3, jakIII
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2018-12-15 11:27:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 72,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11805066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uncommon_Aura/pseuds/Uncommon_Aura
Summary: With Ashelin now in control, Haven City is finally thriving again, after so long. But all things must come to an end, something everyone learns when the Palace is destroyed, and the blame placed on Jak and Nyx. The two are exiled, and must learn an entirely new way of life. But things are never that simple, either. (Self-Insert/OCs. Part two in a series. Rated M. Complete)





	1. A Much Needed Heart-To-Heart

**Author's Note:**

> **Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx isn't so sure about her new position amongst the Freedom League as a Chief Warrant Officer. After helping with her paperwork and dragging her off to the Naughty Ottsel, Jak tells her that he thinks she's doing great.

Nyx sighed to herself as she shuffled through stacks of paperwork. It felt different somehow, doing this as her actual job instead of doing it because she wanted to help her friends. But at the same time, it felt like nothing had changed. 

Actually no, that was a lie. Things had definitely changed. Praxis was dead, Errol was dead, and the Underground was no longer a secret movement. Now Torn was the Captain of the Freedom League, and Nyx was a Chief Warrant Officer. She hadn't asked for the position of course, nor did she feel she deserved it. But Ashelin wanted her to 'keep' her job, and unfortunately she legally had to be some kind of military rank to be able to help the Freedom League. Ashelin had also said that she deserved to be able to get things done without her orders having to go through Torn first. 

She supposed that was a definitive upside to being an actual ranking officer. Back at the Underground, people often overlooked her and treated her like a packmule or something. Now people saluted her and carried out her orders without question. It was kind of nice.

Of course, it also came with a truckload of responsibility. She wasn't just responsible for the Underground anymore (If she was even 'responsible' for them to begin with), she was responsible for the entire city in some small way. It had definitely taken some getting used to, especially for someone like Nyx who was shy and didn't react well to stress.

But she'd finally found her place and eased into her job. Now she felt pretty in control. If staying up until ungodly hours doing paperwork meant she was in control...

Wait. What time even was it? Nyx looked up at the big clock on the wall and cursed. Shit, she was supposed to meet Jak at the Naughty Ottsel an hour ago! She glanced back to the paperwork that had been thrust upon her by some Ensign, courtesy of Ashelin. She couldn't just leave it, Ashelin would throw a fit. But damnit, she didn't wanna stand Jak up!

There was a sharp knock at the door at the same time that Nyx sighed and ran her hands back through her hair. Sometimes she missed the days where this wasn't her job, yeah... Upon hearing the knock, she straightened up and tried to look busy. "Enter,"

"Figured I might find you here, still,"

Nyx turned to watch as the blond walked into her office, smirking ever so slightly. Of course he'd come to find her. That was just how loyal Jak was. Nyx had to smile as she held up some paperwork. "Ashelin thought it'd be fun to drop these on me last minute,"

"Need some help?" Jak asked, raising an eyebrow. "I dunno if my security clearance is high enough, but Ashelin trusts me,"

Nyx snorted. "You sure you wanna numb your mind and waste your time with all this political crap?" 

"I've been neck deep in it from day one," Jak replied with a scoff. "Besides, any time spent with you is not time wasted,"

Nyx snorted again, and gave Jak a grin. She remembered the days when he was too emotionally stunted to even imply that he liked her more than just as friends. Those were somehow simpler times, but she definitely didn't miss them.

"Alright, fine. Have a seat and don't blame me if your eyes start bleeding," Nyx finally laughed, grabbing another chair and pulling it up beside her's. Jak took the seat without any question, and leaned his elbows onto the desk. He'd learned a long time ago that Nyx was the only one who would allow him to do that to their desk. He'd done it to Torn's desk once, and the Captain had given him such a fierce glare, it could have rended metal. 'Torn's a no-nonsense guy' Nyx had said when Jak told her about it. 

"So, what are we doing here?" Jak asked, picking up a stapled stack of papers and flipping through them without really looking at anything. 

"Basically going through propositions of things we should do with or to the city," Nyx replied, stamping something on the stack she'd been reading, and then putting it off in a pile. "Like cleanup and construction and stuff,"

"Petitions, basically?" Jak questioned. "Since when was this your job? I thought you were a supply manager,"

"Petitions mostly, yeah," Nyx confirmed, and then sighed. "Well, I'm a Chief Warrant Officer, and it's not a 'one tricky pony' kind of job. I basically just do whatever little stuff they can't find someone else trustworthy enough to do, really,"

Jak raised an eyebrow as he read over one of the 'petitions'. It was asking for Captain Torn to come speak at some... Thing involving the death of Baron Praxis. Jak scowled at it. "And they call this 'little stuff'?"

"Yeah. They're more focused on dealing with the Metal Heads and the rest of the KG. Small things like more walkways and cheaper sales tax aren't at the top of their lists. So they dump it all on me," Nyx replied with a shrug. 

"Do you deny all this stuff or...?" Jak asked, glancing sidelong at her. 

"Of course not," answered Nyx. "I approve the reasonable stuff, the stuff we can actually achieve. Just because the higher ups don't have time to deal with it, doesn't mean they don't care. Torn and Ashelin have expressed that explicitly. That's why they send it to me, I think. They know that I know, and that I'll make the right choice,"

Jak hummed. "They sure put a lot of trust in you,"

Nyx shrugged. "I guess they do. Now, do you wanna help or not?"

"Why not? Like I said, it's time spent with you," Jak replied, bumping her left shoulder with his right. 

Nyx smiled. Of all the things she missed, Jak not showing her affection like this wasn't one of them. Maybe he embarassed her sometimes, but at least he could admit and show that he cared. He was still awkward a lot, but he was giving this relationship thing his best shot. 

"Alright then. These are all petitions about traffic laws, read them thoroughly. If it sounds like it will limit reckless driving behaviors, then hand it to me and I'll sign it. Otherwise, put it aside and I'll stamp it for disapproval," Nyx instructed, handing Jak a stack of papers. 

"Are you sure you wanna trust me with things involving driving?" Jak asked with a chuckle. Precursors knew he was the most reckless driver in the whole city. Well, maybe not... If Daxter could legally drive, he'd probably be worse. It was a miracle that Jak had gotten his license. He got the feeling that Ashelin and/or Torn had pulled some strings for him.

Nyx laughed. "Yes. Because maybe it will make you realize what a shitty driver you are,"

Jak laughed, too. "Alright fine. I admit, I'm reckless,"

"But you get the job done, I know," Nyx replied, stamping another stack of papers and setting them aside. 

The blond snorted and started reading through the papers he'd been given. The room lapsed into silence, the only sound being their breathing, the rustling of papers, and the sounds of pens and stamps.

Neither of them were sure how much time had passed, but it was a shock to Nyx when Jak handed her one final petition to sign, and then she realized that there were no more left to go through. 

"We make a good team," Jak said, sitting up properly to stretch his back. 

Nyx smiled. "Hmm. That we do,"

Jak stood up and offered Nyx his hand. "Now, unless you have other pressing matters to attend to, how about a drink?"

Nyx laughed, but stood up and took Jak's hand anyways. "Drinking on a work night? Eh, why not?"

Jak chuckled as he lead Nyx out of her office. "Hey, Torn doesn't have to know, does he?"

Nyx snorted and shot him a sarcastic look. "Well look at you. You're smarter than most of the Freedom League gives you credit for,"

Jak pretended to be offended by that statement. "What? They still think I'm just a pretty face with a mean streak?"

"Torn's working on convincing them otherwise," Nyx insisted as they exited the Palace. There was a zoomer parked not far from the doors, and that was where Jak lead her. 

"I sure hope he's a good negotiator," Jak said as he climbed into the zoomer. Nyx climbed in behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Another thing she didn't miss about the old days was the fact that Jak wasn't quite so tense and angry. The Baron was finally gone, and that had given him some sense of peace. He found himself able make a few more jokes here and there, and it was nice to see him loosen up a bit. It didn't completely do away with his nasty temper and generally unpersonable disposition, but around those he liked, there was a noticable difference. 

"I'm sure he is," Nyx replied as Jak started up the zoomer and headed down the dark streets, navigating perfectly. Nyx swore he had to have night vision or something to drive so fast in the dark. It used to scare her, but by now she was used to it, and wholeheartedly trusted Jak to not crash. 

The ride to the Naughty Ottsel was spent in silence, as talking while the wind rushes by your face is a little hard. It's also a good way to get bugs in your teeth. Jak slowed the zoomer down as he reached the Naughty Ottsel, and parked it outside. The duo dismounted the bike-like vehicle, and headed inside. 

"'Ey, there you are! I was startin' to think ya guys had died or somethin'," Daxter greeted as they crossed the threshold. It was well past operating bar hours, but Daxter never hesitated to make an exception for his best friends. 

"I got drowned in paperwork," Nyx said plaintively, shrugging languidly and looking around the bar. Compared to the Palace, Daxter's bar felt much more homely and relaxing. The Palace felt sterile and imposing. The Naughty Ottsel was quaint and simple, just the way Nyx liked things.

"Ashelin workin' ya to death?" Daxter asked. "'Cause if she is, I can go give her the old one-two, y'know? Just say the word. No one keeps Jak from his girl without dealin' with me!" 

Both Nyx and Jak laughed. "Thanks, Dax," Nyx said. "But it's fine. It's my job, after all. Can't skimp on it,"

Daxter rolled his eyes. "All work and no play makes for a really boring life, y'know," 

Nyx snorted as she and Jak took seats up at the bar. "I know. But you know it's not always like this. Once things officially settle down, I'm sure my schedule will clear a bit,"

Daxter hummed and gave her what was almost a glare. "I'm holdin' ya to that,"

"Why do you care so much about our relationship, anyways?" Nyx asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking at Daxter.

"'Cause Jak's my best bud! And he deserves more time with his lady!" Daxter exclaimed. "Besides, you deserve some more off time, too. Don't ya miss seeing Jak every single day?"

"Yeah," Nyx sighed, glancing over at Jak and lacing their fingers together. "I definitely do. But. It makes me value our time together a little bit more,"

Daxter smirked and then turned to the selection of alcohol behind him. "Uh-huh. So, what can I get you two today?"

"Beer is fine for me," Jak said. He'd long since learned that he was a lightweight; Had no alcohol tolerance whatsoever. And he had work to do tomarrow, no need to accidentally get shitfaced, right?

"Anything fruity," was Nyx's request. She hated the taste of alcohol, which was why she didn't drink all that often. Like Jak, she was also something of a lightweight. It seemed like alcohol tolerance was something only their respective best friends had.

"Comin' right up!" exclaimed Daxter, darting around the bar with impressive speed to prepare their orders. Not like he actually needed to rush for their sake, they weren't cranky patrons who wanted alcohol right then and there. They supposed he was just used to making orders quickly.

In a few minutes, their respective drinks were placed before them. "Enjoy~"

Nyx took a tentative sip from her glass, whereas Jak took a bold drink from his. He knew what the beer at the Naughty Ottsel tasted like, and he liked it just fine. Nyx hadn't had the chance to try anything from Daxter's bar, and was thus hesitant. 

"Sooooo?" Daxter drawled, leaning on the counter to waggle his eyebrows at Nyx. 

Nyx hummed. "Not bad. I'm not much for alchohol in general, but this is pretty good,"

"It's my own special blend," Daxter replied with pride. "Now, I'll leave you two sweethearts alone. If ya need anythin', just yell,"

"Got it. Thanks, Dax," Nyx said. Meanwhile, Jak raised a hand in farewell to the ottsel as he went upstairs. Before he went, Daxter gave a wink that only Jak saw, which made the blond roll his eyes.

The couple sat in silence for a few minutes after Daxter left, both drinking from their glasses. Nyx was lost in her thoughts, and wasn't aware that she was staring at the bar with a blank and vaguely troubled look. Some people might have overlooked it, but Jak saw it. He'd learned how to read her rather well in the time they'd known each other. 

Jak reached over to put his hand over her's, drawing her attention to him. "Rough day?"

"More like rough week," Nyx sighed. "Actually, things never stopped being rough,"

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Jak replied. "...You wanna talk about it?"

Nyx glanced over at Jak, giving him a look. She knew that he wasn't particularly good with words when it came to emotional things. He was the kind of guy who spoke louder through actions. But, if she knew anything, it was that Jak was indeed a good listener.

So, Nyx sighed and started talking. "I never expected to wind up being an Officer and actually having all this power and responsibility. I didn't think about what would happen if we took down Praxis, didn't think about who would take control of the city. But logically it would have to be us, right? The people fighting against him. It doesn't matter that Kor killed him, we were still fighting to take the city from him and now he's gone,"

"...And it's so different now. But at the same time it's not. I'm still pushing papers and managing supplies, telling these guys that we need that, and those guys that to go do this. But I'm working within the government now, my actions actually mean something..." she trailed off for a second, staring at her cup. "...People expect things of me and I don't wanna let them down. As far as the people are concerned, I asked for this by fighting against Praxis. And it's. Weird to have this responsibility thrust upon me, when I'm essentially doing the same things as before... We all are. Torn's planning attacks and defense strategies and all this war stuff. And you're off running suicide missions that you somehow always come back from... But yet everything's changed and I dunno if I can measure up to the new expectations set for me," 

Jak was silent a moment longer, waiting to see if she had anything more to say. Finally, he spoke. "I think you're doing fine,"

"Do you?" Nyx asked, managing a small smile as she looked towards Jak.

"You're doing no worse than I would," answered Jak. "And the way I see it... You didn't ask for any of this. But you're stepping up to the plate anyways,"

Nyx snorted. "Yeah, you're right. Because if I don't do it, then who will? I don't think Ashelin and Torn would work half as well with anyone else as they do with me,"

Jak nodded. "It might be hard now. But. I think you'll be fine,"

Nyx laughed quietly. "Yeah. Yeah I know I will be. I'm just worried about everything falling apart and people blaming us for it. So I try my hardest to keep working, keep making progress... Keep trying to make the city better for the people,"

"Have you... Tried talking to Torn?" Jak suggested. Those two were as close as two people could be, they were sort of like him and Daxter, the way Jak saw it. Maybe talking with him would be a good idea.

"I dunno," Nyx responded quietly. "I feel like I shouldn't. This is our job now, is it really professional to go crying to him about all this?"

"He's still your friend. I'm your co-worker, too, but we're still having this conversation, aren't we?" said Jak, raising an eyebrow.

Nyx sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. But Torn's got so much to worry about already. I don't want him questioning my ability to do my work,"

Jak hummed thoughtfully before responding. "I don't think he would. I think he'd be glad if you came to him. Maybe he needs someone, too," 

"...Maybe you're right. I dunno, I guess I'll have to think about it. Find the right moment when we're not neck deep in paperwork and politics," said Nyx, absently stirring her drink with her straw. 

"I think you both might benefit from that," said Jak, moving his chair over so he could sling an arm around Nyx's shoulders.

Nyx leaned towards Jak, resting her head against him. His presence was calming. "Yeah. I guess he and I haven't had much time to talk lately. Back at the Underground we had all the time in the world to ourselves. I kinda miss that,"

"I know. So do I," Jak said, threading fingers through Nyx's hair.

"Hopefully we can have that back one day," Nyx sighed.

There was a pause before Jak replied. "We will,"


	2. Bad Men Do Good Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While sitting alone at the Naughty Ottsel after a particularly stressful day, Nyx and Keira end up talking about Errol, and how it's okay for Keira to wish that things had been different with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel kinda sorry for Keira, because she clearly had some kind of personal relationship with Errol, if she defended him so quickly. I don't think it was romantic/sexual, but she liked him. She cared. And then she learns that the person who may have been her only friend for two years was really someone awful, who had traumatized her childhood best friend. That's probably something that's stuck with her.

The Naughty Ottsel was quiet, which was a stark contrast to what it had been approximately an hour ago. An hour ago it had been bustling with patrons and staff alike, the sound of Daxter's voice somehow sounding above all of it as he tended the bar and shared stories with his customers. 

But now it was mostly empty, save for Keira and Nyx, who both sat at the bar, not exactly looking at each other. Tess was somewhere in the back, doing stock, and Daxter had gone with Jak to 'take a walk' (Which was code for 'Jak's emotionally unstable right now and needs a minute'). 

Legally, Keira shouldn't have even been in the bar, let alone sitting at the actual bar. But it was after hours, and Daxter was loose with rules when it came to friends. He wouldn't let her drink, of course, but it wasn't like anyone would tell if they saw her in there. She looked a bit older than she really was, after all. And she definitely acted it after everything she'd been through.

Since she wasn't allowed to drink alcohol, Keira was sipping quietly on a glass of cola, gazing around at the Metal Head craniums that were mounted to the walls. There sure were a lot of them... Kor's being the biggest and most intimidating. 

Nyx on the other hand, was sipping some fruity rum drink, even though she wasn't the biggest fan of it. The sharp taste helped keep her mind on less frustrating things. Being part of the city's government was cool and all, but man did it get on her nerves sometimes. No wonder Jak needed to go take a walk after the day they'd had. She didn't even want to think about it. So she took a strong pull from her straw, and glanced over at Keira.

There was something she'd been meaning to ask the mechanic, because it felt like the right thing to do, even if she wasn't sure she wanted to have the following conversation. It was a few sips later when she decided to finally ask it, just for something else to think about. "Hey, Keira?"

"Hm?" Keira turned to look at Nyx, who was now stirring her drink with her straw and glancing at Keira only periodically.

"Do you uh. Do you miss him...?" Nyx asked slowly, not meeting Keira's eyes as she asked it. She wasn't really sure if she was the right person to have this conversation with, but Jak sure as hell wasn't gonna do it. And no one else really knew or understood what the three of them had gone through when it came to Errol...

Keira blinked a few times. "What?"

Nyx sighed softly. "I saw his racing mask in your garage earlier... Aaaannnnd so I was wondering if you missed him..."

"Oh..." Keira breathed, taking a moment to postpone her answer by taking a sip of soda. "Well I... Do you really care...?"

"C'mon, Keira. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want the answer..." Nyx replied, looking back over at the green-eyed girl. Maybe she didn't know Keira the way Jak did, but she still cared. They'd been something like friends for nearly a year now, even if it was only a working relationship. They'd swapped stories and shared pleasantries, and that was enough to make Nyx care. Not to mention the fact that she was indeed Jak's childhood friend. And after all the shit that had gone down, someone needed to be there for her, and it seemed like Nyx was the only one willing to do it. 

Keira was quiet for a moment, staring at the bar. Then she sighed. "Yeah. I do miss him... I mean... I know he did awful things to you and Jak, but... I didn't wanna believe that. He was always so sweet and kind to me... He picked me up and put me back on my feet when I got here and had nothing... He got me that gig at the stadium, actually..."

Nyx hummed. Keira had apparently known a side of Errol that no one else had. A side of him that seemingly cared and was human. Had he known who Keira was, though? Had he known that she came to Haven with Jak? He'd used Keira to piss off Jak that one time, but had he known? Or had he just seen that they knew each other and took advantage of that in the heat of the moment? There was no way of knowing now. 

Nyx's pause as she pondered prompted Keira to keep talking, having something else she felt she needed to say. "I'm not. Trying to defend what he did to you two... It's... Inexcusable, really... It was just... Really hard to believe that the only person in Haven who treated me like a person was actually some monster... I wanted to ask him, after you two got into that fight, but... I didn't have the guts to..." she paused to sigh. "But he died trying to kill Jak, didn't he? Tried to run him over...?"

"Yeah," Nyx replied, voice coming out more harsh than she wanted it to. "I was watching that race. Jak barely got out of there in time,"

Keira gave a sad hum and twirled her straw idly in her drink. "I know that I was wrong to trust someone like Errol but... He made me feel safe. And now... Now I just feel betrayed..."

Nyx hesitated a moment, before reaching out to grasp Keira's arm gently. "No one blames you for trusting someone who helped you without truly asking for anything in return. At least, I don't. If I had been in your position, I probably would have trusted him, too. He played you, for whatever reason he had. You have the right to feel betrayed..."

"I do...? But he... Did such awful things to you and Jak? Shouldn't I hate him for that?" Keira asked. "I shouldn't still care after knowing that, right?"

"Do you?" Nyx asked in turn. "Do you still care?"

"I... Yeah... He was my only friend for two years..." Keira replied quietly, staring down at her cup.

Nyx tapped a fingernail against her own glass. "Considering those circumstances, you're not wrong for still caring. For wishing it had been different and that he didn't turn out to be who he was. And if I'm being honest, knowing that he was so nice to you maybe makes me hate him a little less..."

"Really?" Keira questioned softly. "How could you forgive someone who did... All this to you?"

Nyx sighed. "I don't forgive him. I just see him as a bit more human now. Before he was just a monster to me. But at least now I know that maybe there was a bit of humanity in him. But uh. You know what my friend Silas always says?"

"What?" inquired Keira, curious as to what this advice might be.

"Bad men sometimes do good things if it will get them what they want. But then good men also sometimes do bad things for the same reasons..." Nyx answered.

Keira stopped a moment to let that sink in. "...And which one was Errol?"

Nyx hesitated in answering that. "I don't know... He's the only one who could tell us,"

"...Am I wrong to wish that maybe it was the latter, despite everything I know...?" Keira asked, dabbing at the condensation from her glass with her fingers. She didn't want to look over at Nyx now. Because she was living proof that one of Keira's closest friends had really been someone terrible.

"No," Nyx replied, trying to express the fact that she firmly believed this with just one word. "It's not wrong to wish that the side of him you knew was the only one. Because you loved that part of him, didn't you? And you wish you still could,"

Keira sighed heavily. "How do you know what I'm thinking...?"

"I've learned a lot about reading people since meeting Jak," Nyx replied. "I'm also a very empathetic person. Even if I've never been where you are, I can understand how it feels. That's why we're having this conversation. Someone needed to bring it up, and I sure as hell knew that Jak wouldn't do it,"

Keira snorted softly. "He's never been good with words..."

"So I've heard. But he does care. You know that, right?" Nyx asked, glancing back over at Keira again. 

Keira nodded. "Of course I do. After what I said to him, I wouldn't blame him if he hated me, though..."

Nyx reached over to slap Keira's arm lightly. "Don't think like that. Jak understands, I've talked to him about it. He knows that you didn't know about the terrible things Errol's done. You thought he was good. We can't blame you for that,"

Keira sighed quietly and hummed, though it was more of a whine than anything else. "...Thanks,"

"Don't mention it. I'm just doing my civic duty," Nyx replied, taking another sip of her half-finished drink. She felt slightly buzzed from it, but definitely not drunk. It was enough to have convinced her to start this conversation, though. And she was pretty glad she had done so. She wasn't sure if she wanted to finish the glass, though...

Keira smiled at Nyx, though her eyes glistened with the faintest hint of tears. She looked like she was going to say something, but then the door to the Naughty Ottsel swung open, revealing Jak and Daxter. 

Jak looked a thousand times less pissed than when he'd left, and Nyx was grateful for that. She was still learning how to handle a pissed off Jak, and not let his anger get to her too much. 

"Greetings, ladies!" Daxter announced. "Orange Lightning has returned!"

Nyx and Keira chuckled as Jak took a seat next to Nyx. He didn't say anything, instead stealing Nyx's glass from her. He ignored the straw and took a gulp from it, then slid it back to her. 

"Better?" Nyx asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Jak nodded. "Yeah," 

Nyx snorted and gave Jak a sarcastic grin. "Good. I'd hate for you to bring down the awesome party we're having in here,"

Keira laughed and almost choked on her soda. "Yeah, this is totally a party. We're just jamming out over here,"

Jak chuckled and leaned forwards onto the bar. "You hear that, Dax? They're having a party without you,"

"How dare ya!" Daxter exclaimed. "And in my own bar! Scoundrels, both of you!"

Nyx laughed, though the action made her head spin a bit. Okay, maybe she was a bit more drunk than she thought... "Hey the party doesn't stop just because you come back,"

Daxter gave them a fake glare. "You bet your ass it don't! Hey Tess! Turn those speakers back on!"


	3. And That Was Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx is still learning how to control the Dark Eco swimming in her veins, and it's not always easy. Especially not when her body tends to react to whatever's going on with Jak's emotional state of being. Sometimes, she can't help but get ridiculously overwhelmed... Sometimes Jak's emotions are just too intense for such an empathetic person. But Nyx isn't exactly well-versed in talking about her emotions instead of bottling them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write some of Jak and Nyx before they completely figure out the whole 'being a couple' thing. At the end of TKITD, they still didn't know each other too well, so there was definitely some learning involved before we get to the bond we see in the actual Jak3 parts of this fic.

Nyx mentally cursed herself, and wondered why the hell did she have to be so empathetic and absorb other people's emotions like a sponge? Sometimes it was great, because she could understand people's emotions when they needed emotional support and reassurance. But sometimes it left her feeling distressed and upset, because the people around her were as well. 

It was why she'd always hated yelling and fighting when she was a kid, it always put her in a horrible mood and made her feel like she'd done something wrong. It was an issue that persisted into her young adult life, and it did not make it easy to stay calm when her job and life tended to be stressful.

Usually, Nyx and Jak got along incredibly well, and usually Nyx knew how to handle Jak when he got a little angry. But the day had been more stressful than usual, leaving them both frazzled and annoyed. And while perhaps she could muck through continuing to feel awful because Jak was pissed, it was the Dark Eco that was immensely fucking with her. 

As they sat at the bar of the Naughty Ottsel, Jak wasn't even talking to anyone, just glaring at the bar and downing his second drink. His hand was so tight around the glass that Nyx feared he might break it. He was definitely strong enough to do so, she thought. His body vibrated with Dark Eco, and the Eco in Nyx's body was reacting to that in same.

Nyx quietly drummed her fingers on the side of her glass, the condensation sticking to her fingers. Said fingers were shaking a bit, and she was trying to not focus on that. She would have killed to have Daxter telling some tall tale right about then, but he was doing dishes because Tess demanded it of him.

Eventually, Nyx decided that she just couldn't sit there next to Jak anymore. She loved him, there was no doubting that, and she wanted to be there for him in times of emotional trouble... But to do that, she needed to get away from him for a moment. She'd been near him all day, watching his mood turn darker and darker, dragging her's down with him. She needed some air if she was going to handle this appropriately. 

Mumbling a quiet "I'll be right back," Nyx slipped off to the bathroom. She headed into the first stall, locked the door, and leaned back against it. She took several deep breaths, and tried forcing back the spark of Dark Eco. 

She'd never had the best control over her emotions, something that Torn always told her she ought to work on. But try as she might to stay calm under stressful situations, it wasn't as easy as she felt it should have been. And she entirely blamed the Dark Eco for that. It destabilized both her and Jak, and though her case wasn't as severe, it still made it hard for her to keep a completely level head. 

She was getting better with it, of course, and so was Jak. But 'getting better' took time and small baby steps. And some things were just too annoying to currently not get mad at.  
Nyx had no idea how long she'd been in the bathroom stall, taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself down. But eventually, the bathroom door swung open, and footsteps sounded. "Nyx?"

She gave a short laugh, almost choking on the sound. "Jak, this is the women's bathroom,"

"No one else is here, Tess said I could come in. Are you okay?" Jak asked, crossing his arms, though she couldn't see him.

Nyx sighed. "I'm fine. Just. Need a minute," 

Jak was silent a moment. "...Did I do something? You've seemed... Mad at me all day,"

"No, I'm not mad at you, Jak, I'm just. Frustrated," Nyx replied, staring up at the bathroom ceiling.

"Is it my fault?" Jak asked.

"No," Nyx answered. "Not really. I mean. Are my reactions to you your fault?"

Jak paused a minute, trying to find an answer for that. "I don't follow, Nyx..."

Nyx sighed and floundered with words for a moment. "I'm the kind of person who's emotions are affected by the emotions of people around me. So if someone's pissed, it tends to drag me down, too,"

"So it is my fault...?" questioned the blond, starting to feel a bit guilty.

"No!" Nyx almost snapped, feeling a bit exasperated. "My emotions are not your fault, today's been complete crap to both of us. I can usually handle people being angry and stuff but..."

"But...?" Jak drawled, prompting her to go on.

Nyx bit her lip and let a breath of air pull it from her teeth with a pop. "It's the damn Dark Eco, Jak. If too much of it is coming from you, my body reacts to it. Like some Eco fight or flight instinct. I'm still learning how to combat it," she felt so stupid saying it. She barely talked about the changes Dark Eco had caused in her, because she knew that Jak had it so much worse. Compared to him, she had no right to complain. 

Jak was silent for a good few seconds, trying to find the right words. "...Will you come out of that stall?"

Nyx kept staring up at the ceiling as she contemplated Jak's request. She felt a lot calmer than before... And he sounded calmer, too. So she decided to absorb the risk and step out of the stall. She couldn't meet Jak's eyes as she exited it, though. She felt weak for not being able to handle this. And she didn't want him to think she was weak. 

"Why didn't you say anything...?" Jak asked, trying to sound as soft as he could.

Nyx bit her lip again and chewed at it. "Because it's... Not your problem..."

Jak had to give her an unimpressed glare that she definitely caught. "I'm your boyfriend. It's absolutely my problem. I care about you, don't you know that?"

"Yeah, but you..." Nyx trailed off, not wanting to put her self-depreciating thoughts into words that Jak had to hear. He didn't need to see how much more messed up she was. He didn't need to deal with that. 

"What, Nyx? You know I'm not gonna judge you for whatever it is, right?" questioned Jak, resisting the urge to move towards her. She'd actively seeked a presence away from him, and maybe it had been wrong to go look for her in the first place. But he'd been getting worried...

Nyx sighed and leaned against the outside of the stall door. "You've got it so much worse than I do... My problems are nothing compared to yours. You shouldn't have to listen to me whine about it. I should be able to handle it,"

She was joking, right? She had to be, she couldn't be serious about that. Jak found his feet moving towards her without actually meaning to, and he came to a stop in front of her so he could cup her face in his hands. She let him, but wouldn't look in his eyes. "Dark Eco usually kills people. It's not something to be taken lightly, Nyx. I'm pissed that you had to go through that at all. And whatever it does to you, however you feel it, it's no less than what I go through. Do you understand me?"

Maybe he'd been a little too forceful, a little too brash. But he didn't want to dance around it. He was not going to stand there and let her think that bottling up her feelings was a good thing to do because she felt they weren't worthy. 

Nyx screwed her eyes shut as tears started dripping down her cheeks and Dark Eco started sparking from her skin. If it hadn't been for Jak being close enough to stabilize her, she might have sank down to the floor. ...Today had just involved too many goddamn emotions...

"Shit, I'm sorry..." Jak mumbled, pulling her close to his chest. "I didn't mean to make you cry..."

Nyx took a few shuddering breaths, trying to regain her composure the best she could. She fisted her hands into Jak's shirt, and buried her face into the bend of his neck. "Not your fault..." she mumbled into his skin. "Today's sucked..."

"It really has..." Jak replied, threading his fingers back through Nyx's hair. "But it's gonna be okay. We've got each other, don't we? We can get through it,"

Nyx nodded and stood up on her tippy toes to better pull Jak into a hug. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, for anything. Just... Don't bottle it up like that next time, okay? If something's wrong, you can tell me," responded Jak, resting his forehead against the top of Nyx's head. 

Nyx nodded minutely, and continued to bury her face into Jak's neck, not wanting to look up into those blue eyes. She could still feel the Dark Eco swimming through Jak's veins, and her own body wanted to react to it, but by now she was too tired to care. Her emotional reserves were gone, and that included anger and fear. 

Jak let her stay there for as long as she needed, listening as her sobs and the aura of Dark Eco ebbed away. He wished that it was different... That she didn't have to know the pain of Dark Eco corrupting her body. She didn't deserve it.

But there was no going back now, it had been done. And the people who did it had paid for it with their lives. That was the best closure they could get, right?

Eventually, Nyx went quiet, and then finally looked up at Jak. She wanted to say that she was sorry again, but he'd already told her not to. So she bit back the programmed apology and instead chose some more meaningful words. "I love you..."

A smile pulled at the corner of Jak's lips. "I love you, too,"

There was a moment of hesitation between them both, each party trying to read the other to make sure it was okay... Neither of them were sure who moved first, but the end result was the same. Their lips met a bit roughly, and Nyx felt her back be pressed against the door of the bathroom stall as Jak leaned into her. 

It was a short moment, but it said everything else that needed to be said. They weren't mad at each other, and this changed nothing. He didn't think she was weak, and she didn't blame him for any of this. And even if they were both broken and not the people they'd once been, they were still moving forwards. They were still making something more of themselves.

And that was enough.


	4. Not A Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to touch upon two subjects, and I ended up being able to combine them into one thing yay! The first thing I wanted to address (Which is the main part of this one) is Keira finally seeing Dark Jak. The second thing being the headcanon that Jak and Dax (And Keira) know sign language, since Jak was mute as a kid. And then I also decided to finally mention that Nyx knows Onin's form of sign language, since it's rooted in Blue Eco.

The sun had already gone down a long time ago, leaving Haven in a peaceful darkness that probably hid a lot more dangers than one could imagine. Even with Baron Praxis gone, the city was still in turmoil. It probably would be for a while longer; Wars weren't easy to move past.

Keira's garage door was propped open slightly, letting in the cool night air. Said mechanic was currently underneath her latest zoomer project, trying to fine-tune the fuel injection system. 

Nyx was a few feet away, sat on a wooden stool and fiddling with some gun parts, trying to remember how they went together. Jak had been trying to teach her, because it was something she needed to know. But there were so many little parts, it was hard to remember everything. 

The aforementioned renegade was currently asleep on one of Keira's spare work tables, with Daxter curled up under his chin. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, really, but his day had been so stressful that he couldn't help it. Nyx felt that he definitely needed it. 

It was sort of nice; Having all of them together in one room like this, even if Jak and Daxter were dead asleep. It was good to see Jak and Keira getting along again, and it was even bringing Keira and Nyx a bit closer. It was something Jak needed; Stability. A network of people he could rely on. 

Of course, it wasn't always sunshine and roses. And sometimes things could go from good to bad in a split second when Dark Eco was involved. And apparently this night was going to be one of them. 

The first groan and restless shift made Nyx look up from her gun parts, eyes locked on the table where Jak was laying. Was he having a nightmare again? Would it be bad? Jak groaned again and Nyx saw him grasp tightly at the cloth covering his chest, clawing helplessly at the scars that no doubt throbbed with phantom pain. 

That was when Daxter stirred, as Jak's squirming increased and jostled the ottsel awake. "...Jak?"

Keira hadn't noticed the commotion until she heard Daxter's voice cut the relative silence of her garage. She wheeled out from under her zoomer to see that Nyx was staring intently at Jak, looking ready to bolt from her chair at any moment. Then she looked to Jak, who was covered in sweat and weakly clawing at himself, Dark Eco beginning to spark off of his body. Keira's eyes widened, and she took a small step back. "Nyx... What's happening...?"

"He's having another nightmare... Happens a lot..." Nyx mumbled, just barely loud enough for Keira to hear. "Just. Just stay there, Keira,"

Keira nodded and watched as Nyx slowly approached Jak. Daxter was currently rubbing his face against Jak's with panicked urgency, trying to rouse his friend from the terror in his own mind. "Jak, buddy, c'mon! It's okay..."

The Dark Eco was becoming more agitated in it's sparking, and both Nyx and Daxter knew what was coming next. As Jak's movements became more violent and sharp, Daxter leaped over Jak to land on Nyx's shoulder, and Nyx placed herself between Jak and Keira. The mechanic had never seen this happen... And Jak had never been around her when he was transformed. There was no telling what was about to happen.

"Nyx...?" Keira mumbled, concerned as to why she and Daxter had just stepped away from Jak. 

"He's going to transform," Nyx replied bluntly. "Don't freak out, that'll just scare him more, okay?"

Keira nodded, though her hands were shaking. She knew about this part of Jak. She knew that he transformed into a Dark Eco monster, but she'd never seen it. Almost didn't believe that it was truly real. But she'd seen Dark Eco in both his and Nyx's eyes, and she knew what it did to them. And she wasn't truely sure if she wanted to see this...

It was moments later that Jak awoke with a violent start, a raw yell ripping from his throat as all the color left his body. Claws scraped at the metal table, and obsidian horns broke through the surface of his scalp. He flung himself from off the table, whirling around in the same motion to face the people behind him. Black eyes were narrowed and his lips were pulled back into an animal-like snarl.   
Keira gave a small gasp as she saw the changes that the Dark Eco had caused. Even Jak's teeth had sharpened into pointed daggers... It was almost hard to believe that this was her childhood friend...

"Jak...?" Daxter said, speaking loudly but softly. "Buddy, you okay?"

After a few seconds of Jak not making a move towards them, Nyx decided to take a few steps towards him. "Jak, babe, you're okay. We're at Keira's place, there's nothing to hurt you here,"

Jak's breathing was ragged and sharp, and he was still looking for a reason to fight, but Nyx and Daxter were not it. He didn't mind them coming near, they were 'safe' to him. And they were telling him that it was okay...? They were with Keira...?

As Nyx and Daxter reached Jak, he realized that there was nothing there to harm them. The snarl on his lips faded away, and now he was staring at his friends with a look that said 'I'm sorry'. 

"It's okay," Nyx whispered as she reached out to cup Jak's face. "It's completely okay, Jak,"

Daxter leaped from Nyx's shoulder to Jak's, nussling his pal's face just below his ear. "Yeah, it's all cool, Jakkie-Boy. Nothin' to worry 'bout, 'kay?"

Jak made a small noise in the back of his throat, leaning into Nyx's hands. He reached up to carefully place one of his clawed hands over Nyx's. 

Nyx nodded at him, and then looked behind her at Keira, who looked rather terrified. She looked back to Jak. "You know you're okay, right?"

Jak nodded. For a brief moment, he saw Keira as Nyx turned, and he decided that he didn't like the scared look on her face. He didn't want her to be scared of him... He made a small noise again, this time as if he were asking something, staring behind Nyx at Keira. 

Nyx glanced back at Keira again, then nodded. "Keira? Will you come here? I think he wants you,"

Keira stared for a few moments, and then slowly walked across the room to nervously stand beside Nyx. Jak looked so different like this, she thought. None of his usual demeanor was left. He was more like an animal than a person...

Jak made a rumbling sound that vibrated through his chest, slowly reaching out to brush the back of his fingers over Keira's cheek. She flinched at the cold, and Jak immediately pulled away, looking guilty. 

"I'm sorry..." Keira mumbled. "You're just. Cold..."

"Yeah, that's Dark Eco for you," Nyx replied. "But it's okay. He won't hurt you. He's kinda like a puppy. A very dangerous puppy, but a puppy nonetheless,"

A puppy? Keira wasn't too sure how Nyx could equate Jak to a puppy when he was like this. He looked more like... Well, a monster... She didn't want to call him that, but how else could one describe something like this? But she nodded anyway. She couldn't - Wouldn't - Insult Jak by debating Nyx's claim. At this point, she knew Jak better than Keira did. And that stung a bit, because they used to be so close to each other.

She wanted that back... She knew that Nyx held a special place that Keira likely never would rival, but she still wanted to go back to the friendship she'd had with Jak before all this Haven stuff happened. So she needed to get used to this part of Jak. Stop seeing him as a monster and just see Dark Jak as another part of her friend. So she carefully reached out, and placed her palm against Jak's cold face. 

Jak closed his eyes and gave a sound that was something like a purr. He leaned into Keira's hand, and reached up to slowly grasp her wrist with precise delicacy. She was more breakable than Nyx, he had to remember. And he wanted to show her that he could be gentle when he was like this. 

Keira watched the large clawed hand come up to grasp her wrist, and she expected it to hurt. But it didn't. She barely felt his cold digits against her arm, save for their temperature. He was surprisingly gentle...

"See?" Daxter said. "Big puppy!"

Jak snorted at Daxter, but kept his face leaned into Keira's palm. She was warm, moreso than Nyx. It felt good against the all-over cold that Dark Eco brought with it. 

Eventually, Jak let Keira pull her hand away, and they spent a few moments staring at each other. It was then Keira realized that Jak hadn't said a word since transforming. He was completely mute, save for growls and whines. It was a strange form of familiarity; The only truly familiar thing she'd found when looking at him like this. And as she looked harder, she realized that pieces of her old friend were still in there. 

Without really meaning to, Keira found her hands moving on their own, forming signs and moving in motions that she hadn't used in years, but remembered like it was yesterday. 'It's okay. I'm not scared,'

Jak stared as Keira's hands moved, and even though it had been years since he'd used the sign language they'd come up with, he remembered it just as easily. He gave a hesitant smile at Keira's signed words, glad that she wasn't terrified of him. 

Nyx stared as silent words passed between Keira and Jak, not able to completely recognize the signs that Keira had used. She knew the form of sign language that Onin used, but this was completely different, it seemed. She wanted to ask, but she didn't want to break the moment between the two of them. 

Keira smiled back, and moved her hands slowly in more familiar signs. 'I was scared... But it's still you in there, isn't it, Jak?'

Jak nodded, and slowly reached out to pull Keira into a hug, being incredibly careful to not hurt her. Keira hesitated in returning it, having not touched Jak like this in two years now. But it was only a few seconds that she hesitated, before she slung her arms around Jak's waist. 

And even though the aura of Dark Eco was physically disturbing, there was something familiar there. In the way that Jak held her there against his chest. It was indeed still him, somewhere underneath all the Dark Eco and torture. 

After just a moment of holding Keira to his body, Jak gave a weak groan, and the Dark Eco pulsating from his body finally dissipated. The color returned to his body, the horns and claws vanished, and his eyes faded back to their proper blue. 

Keira then pulled away to stare at Jak, and smiled. "You know. That wasn't so bad,"

Daxter snorted. "Wait 'till ya see him kickin' ass! He's a force to be reckoned with, baby!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "Are you trying to scare her, Dax?"

"What? No! 'Course not. But ya ain't always so tame when you're like that," Daxter responded. "Right, Nyx?"

Nyx laughed softly. "Definitely not. But it's never without reason,"

Keira hummed. "It's a defense mechanism, isn't it?"

Jak blinked at her a few times, surprised that she'd figured it out so quickly. "Yeah... Yeah, it's something like that. Only happens if I'm threatened or really pissed..."

"Oooorrr if someone ya love is threatened or hurt," Daxter corrected, nudging Jak's head. "Remember when Nyx got shot?"

Jak scoffed. "Yeah, I remember. Lucky she didn't run screaming,"

"Jak, I was in no physical condition to run. Besides, you did it to protect me, and that was obvious. I couldn't be scared of you under those circumstances," Nyx replied, crossing her arms. 

"Y'know Jak," Daxter said. "You're really lucky to have people in your life who ain't scared of ya," 

Jak snorted and rolled his eyes. "Don't I know it,"

Nyx smiled, and then pointed a finger at Keira. "Now Keira, what was all that signing stuff? 'Cause those weren't any signs I know,"

"Oh, uh. Jak was mute when he was a kid, so he and Daxter came up with this signing system so they could talk. After a while, I ended up learning, too," Keira explained. That felt like so long ago...

"Can't believe you actually remember any of it," said Daxter. 

Keira laughed. "Me neither,"

"I honestly hadn't thought about it until now. I remember like it was yesterday, though..." Jak mused. 

"Well, it was your only way of communicatin' for fifteen years, so yeah, probably hard to forget, huh?" responded Daxter. "I still remember trying to not mix up all those signs. Man, that was a ride,"

Jak chuckled. "Remember when you mixed up the signs for 'bathroom' and 'Lurker'?" 

Daxter groaned. "Don't remind me..."

Jak gave Daxter a look that said he was heavily considering telling the story, and so, to save his pride, Daxter decided to quickly fire off a question towards Nyx. He was curious about it, anyhow. "Hey Nyx! Ya said that our signin' doesn't look like any signs ya know? What the heck signs do ya know?"

"Onin's signs. I've known her since I was a kid, she was my mom's friend. She taught me her way of signing," Nyx replied, waving her hands in the air to form the word 'See?'. Blue Eco trailed her fingertips, creating a visual representation of the sign. 

"Ooooooh. So ya knew what that old hag was sayin' without that bird brain havin' to tell ya?" Daxter asked. 

Nyx nodded. "Yep,"

"So what the heck was she sayin' when I was tryin' to figure it out?" Daxter inquired, curiously leaning forwards with his eyes narrowed. "Bird brain said I was 'close',"

Nyx laughed and shook her head. "Some things are best left unknown, Dax,"


	5. Deserving Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jak finds himself questioning if he really deserves to have Nyx the way he does. He ends up awake in the middle of the night, consulting Torn about it. Nyx wakes up alone, and gets up to try finding where Jak went. She finds herself outside of Torn's office door, eavesdropping on what he and Jak were saying.

Waking up spontaneously in the middle of the night wasn't something that Nyx was unfamiliar with. It happened all the time, whether by chance or because she'd had another disturbing dream. Though the second reason was becoming less and less frequent. 

She usually just checked the room over, before going back to sleep, curling in towards Jak's body for comfort. But she couldn't do that tonight... Because Jak wasn't there... Daxter was still curled up at the head of their pillows, but the blond himself was nowhere to be seen. That was a bit unusual. Surely one of them would have woken up if Jak had another nightmare, right?

The pure unknown factor was what kept Nyx from going back to sleep. This had never happened, and while she was sure Jak was fine, she just wanted to make sure. She didn't want to leave any avenues open. She'd never get back to sleep that way, if her brain was busy worrying and coming up with worse-case scenarios... 

So she slipped out of bed, careful to not wake Daxter, and slid her shoes on. She didn't bother getting dressed, it was unlikely that many others would be awake at this hour. Except the guards, of course. But they wouldn't look twice if Nyx came trapsing through the halls in her sleepwear. 

Nyx wasn't too sure where to begin her search for Jak as she exited her room (Which had sort of become theirs after some time. Jak and Daxter had their own, but rarely used it anymore). She figured the easiest first thing to do would be to see if Torn had seen Jak. Considering that Torn was usually up at almost every conceivable hour, it was somewhat likely that maybe he'd come across Jak, if the blond was wandering about. 

Therefore, Nyx began making her way to Torn's office, rubbing at her eyes as she did so. She hadn't even stopped to look what time it was. The sky was still black as pitch, and there were many hours in which it would be, so there was no way of telling. 

Nyx was going to just walk right into Torn's office, as she was one of two people who had that authority, the other being Ashelin. But upon hearing Torn's voice speaking to someone inside, she stopped near the door. 

"Alright, kid. What's bothering you so much that you came to me?" 

Kid? There weren't many people that Torn called 'Kid', but Jak was one of them... Nyx remained at the door, waiting to see if he was indeed speaking to Jak.

There were a few moments of silence, before Jak's rough voice cut through it, quiet and dejected. "I don't deserve her..."

He... Didn't deserve her? Nyx stared at the door in confusion. What had brought this idea on?

Nyx could practically see the expression that Torn was likely giving Jak. He probably didn't believe that anymore than she did. He'd been a little cautious with letting her date Jak at first, but he'd have to be blind to not see how happy Jak made her.

"I'm inclined to disagree," were the words Torn chose, sounding patient but stern about it. 

Nyx just barely heard the exasperated and confused sigh that Jak spit out. "Why? Most of the city hates me! Because I'm... A monster... She doesn't deserve someone like me..."

Nyx grit her teeth. It had been a while since Jak had talked like this. Like he wasn't worth anything. And she always hated it. Because she wholeheartedly disagreed, and she wished that she could strangle the people who convinced him of this. But Errol and the Baron were already dead, and she couldn't strangle the entire population of Haven who feared him, now could she?

There was yet another stretch of silence, as Torn probably stared at Jak with an unamused look. "You do realize that if I thought you were no good for her, I'd have clocked you when you first kissed her, right?"

Jak sighed. "I know but. You haven't seen it..."

"Listen kid, I know that you turn into some Dark Eco fueled thing when you get all pissed off. But she doesn't seem to mind, does she? She's not the type of person who would stay if she did," Torn replied. He wasn't going to dance around the subject. He was going to give it to Jak straight. "She likes you because she thinks you're a good guy, Dark Eco or not. And maybe I didn't like you when we first met, but I'm currently inclined to agree with her,"

Yet another moment of silence left Nyx wishing she could actually see what was going on in there. What words could she have read on Jak's face that he wasn't actually saying?

"But does it mean that I deserve her? She's so sweet and caring, and she treats me like I'm everything to her..." Jak mumbled. "I don't want to hurt her, and I... I'm scared that one day I will..."

"The fact that you don't want to hurt her is enough. You'll make mistakes, everyone does. Even she will. But the truth is, you're the only other person who knows what she's been through," Torn answered. "And she's the only one who understands what you've been through, too,"

It was true, Jak was the only other person on the planet who understood how Dark Eco felt when it resided in your veins. And Nyx was the only one who could stand to be near him when the horrible energy was sparking from his body. Aside from Daxter, of course, who'd had his own run-in with the stuff and now seemed immune. 

"But what if that mistake costs her her life?" Jak asked, sounding more and more irritated with himself. "I could live with fucking up the whole relationship thing but. If I lost control..."

It was Torn's turn to heave a sigh now. "You've done it to protect her before, haven't you? She told me about it, that day when she was shot. You transformed to protect her, and she turned her back on you when you were like that. I don't think you'd ever hurt her,"

Jak groaned. "But I. I'm scared that I will-"

"You won't," Torn interrupted. "You love her, don't you?"

"Yeah..." Jak replied quietly.

"Is she just as important to you as Daxter?" Torn inquired.

There was a short pause before Jak answered firmly. "Yes,"

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Torn said decidedly. "You'd never hurt Daxter, so I don't think you'd ever hurt her,"

Jak sighed, and then there was more annoying silence. If Nyx could just see his face, maybe she'd know what he was thinking. There were likely so many things he wasn't telling Torn...

"I know you don't think much of yourself," Torn said when Jak remained quiet. "But she sees someone good, someone worth loving. And the truth is that she's probably just as dysfunctional as you are. That's why you work,"

Jak snorted. "You think so?"

"I know so," Torn replied. "If I didn't, I would've kicked your ass outta here by now,"

Jak gave a muted chuckle now, though the sound wasn't quite right. "And if you change your mind?"

"If I change my mind, I'll be sure to let you know," Torn replied, sounding almost amused. 

There was more silence then, followed by a quiet, "Thanks,"

"No problem, kid," Torn answered. "Now go get some sleep, it's four in the morning,"

"Yeah. We've got work to do tomarrow..." Jak replied, and then there was then the sound of his chair sliding across the floor.

Okay, shit. She needed to get out of there. She wouldn't want to have to explain why she was eavesdropping at Torn's door. That was not a conversation she wanted to have, no siree. So Nyx very quickly - And quietly - made her way back down the halls, heading towards her room, which was likely Jak's destination as well. 

She got there before Jak, who was likely not rushing down the halls. Daxter was still dead asleep, and thus Nyx carefully got back into bed, and pretended to be asleep. Some part of her wanted to tell Jak that she'd heard everything he'd said... But she realized that those words had not been for her ears. He'd gone to Torn with them, he didn't want her to know how he doubted himself. So she'd keep quiet about it for now. But she was glad that she knew. Because now she could focus on making sure Jak knew that he was worthy. 

When Jak returned, he quietly climbed back into the bed, regarding Daxter as he did so; Reflexively making sure the ottsel was okay. Then he slid under the covers and pulled Nyx closer to him. She was always warmer than him, even with the Dark Eco in her own veins, and it was nice to be close to. 

Nyx curled closer to him, lazily wrapping an arm over his waist and burying her face into his chest. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. He likely thought she was mostly asleep still. 

Jak carefully rested his chin atop Nyx's head, and carded his fingers back through her hair. Nyx almost hummed, but stopped the sound in her throat. It was best if he didn't know she was awake, yeah. Tomarrow morning she'd tell him how much she loved him.


	6. Special Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Nyx's 19th birthday, and after she spoiled Jak and Daxter for their 18th, Jak decides to spoil Nyx in return. It starts out innocently enough, but the day ends more than a little messy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** This chapter contains NSFW content! AKA; Sex. It's not super smutty, and I actually tried to keep it as clean as one possibly could. You do not need to read this chapter for the rest of the story to make sense, so feel free to skip it. I wrote this as a birthday present to myself. 
> 
> And as the summary says, yes, they're both over 18 for this. I myself am also over 18.

Waking up in the morning to find that Jak had gotten up before her wasn't exactly an uncommon thing. It didn't always happen, but it wasn't anything to panic about. So long as it wasn't three in the morning, it likely just meant that Jak had decided to start his day before her. 

Usually, Jak left Daxter in bed with Nyx, until the latter was ready to get up. Daxter generally refused to even open his eyes until both Jak and Nyx were out of the bed, trying to get every possible second of sleep. But this time... This time Daxter wasn't there, either...

And considering what day it was, Nyx became increasingly suspicious of what the duo were up to... She hauled herself out of their shared bed, and started making her way into the small kitchen her Palace room had. 

That was where she found Jak and Daxter, with Jak hovering over the stove, cooking bacon. Daxter perked up upon seeing that Nyx was awake, and announced her presence to Jak. "See, Jak! It's just like in the movies! She wakes up right on time!"

Jak turned to look at Nyx, smiling at her with just a bit of embarrassment behind the action. "Good morning. I uh. Thought I'd make you breakfast,"

Nyx laughed and brushed her messy hair back with one hand. "You sure you know how to cook that?"

"Well I mean... I looked it up?" said Jak, giving her a nervous smile now, shrugging his shoulders. 

Nyx chuckled. "Good enough, I guess. Just so long as we don't get food poisoning,"

"I promise it won't be that bad," Jak assured her, stacking bacon onto a plate and dragging it to the small kitchen table. Also on the table was scrambled eggs, and french toast. 

With the bacon done, Jak retrieved a jug of orange juice from the fridge, set it on the table, and motioned for Nyx to sit down. "After you,"

Nyx gave Jak a look as she sat down, knowing why he was being extra gentlemanly this morning. "You didn't have to do this, Jak,"

"I wanted to," Jak replied, kissing her on the forehead, and then settling into the seat across from her. Then he pointed to the bacon. "Now tell me if I burned that,"

Nyx rolled her eyes and grabbed a plate, first giving the bacon a try per request. She chewed it for a moment, before nodding. "I've made worse, myself. This isn't bad, considering it's your first try,"

Jak looked pretty proud of himself for that one. "Good to know I didn't horribly mess up. Cooking isn't my thing..."

"Obviously," Nyx chuckled. "I had to teach you what a stove was,"

Jak laughed to hide his embarrassment. "We didn't have anything like that in Sandover, c'mon,"

"I know. It was still funny, though," Nyx replied, trying to not laugh at Jak for his sake.

"Remember when the toaster scared the shit outta him?" Daxter asked, dragging a piece of french toast off the serving plate. 

Nyx laughed while Jak hid his face behind a piece of bacon. "I do remember that. That was hilarious. But if I do recall, you fell straight off the table,"

Daxter gave her a mock glare from behind his toast. "Hey! I was sittin' right in front of that thing! I thought I was bein' attacked!"

Nyx chuckled and booped Daxter's nose. "Sure you did,"

Both humans laughed as Daxter huffed in response to being booped, hunching his shoulders and trying to look like a disgruntled cat. 

"So, is this uh... Good?" Jak asked slowly as he came down from laughing, raising an eyebrow expectantly, looking just a bit vulnerable for once in his life. 

Nyx nodded. "Yeah. This is good. Wouldn't trade it for the fanciest restaurant in the city,"

Jak chuckled. "Good to know. Happy birthday,"

"Thanks," Nyx replied, her face turning a slight shade of red. Jak was a pretty emotionally reserved guy, she'd learned, but it was always her and Daxter that seemed to pull all those soft emotions from deep inside his heart. It was rather nice to be one of the only people who saw him that way. 

The trio finished their breakfast, and afterwards Nyx stood up to round up the dishes. Jak stopped her before she could get very far, though. "Nope. Nuh-Uh. Dishes are mine,"

Nyx stared at him as he collected the dishes and hefted them all up in one hand. "You're going to do dishes? You?"

Jak chuckled. "You went all out for my birthday after Keira told you when it was. Now it's my turn,"

Nyx sighed. "Okay, that's fair enough, I guess,"

There was then a rough rapping at their door, and Jak grinned upon hearing it. "Besides, I think we're expecting guests,"

Nyx eyed Jak suspiciously as she edged towards the door and input the passcode to open it. At the door stood Torn, holding a bagged box of something. Behind him was Tess, who seemed to be hiding something behind her back. 

"Happy birthday, Nyx!" Tess cheered. 

Nyx sighed. "Thanks. I suppose Jak's got something big planned, doesn't he?"

"We're not at liberty to say," Tess sang. 

Nyx gave Torn a look, and he shook his head. "Don't look at me like that, I was sworn to secrecy,"

Nyx gave another sigh, and moved from the door to let her friends in. "Am I going to like it?"

"Yes," Torn replied simply, setting the mystery box down on the now vacant kitchen table.

"Okay... Can you tell me what's in the box?" Nyx ventured, motioning to said box.

"Cupcakes," answered Torn. 

"No birthday is complete without some kind of cake!" said Tess, her hands still suspiciously behind her back. 

Nyx chuckled. "Yeah, guess you're right. Birthday without cake is pretty lame," she then raised an eyebrow at Tess. "And what might you have hidden behind your back there, Tess?"

Tess gave a bright grin and pulled out a rather decorated paper bag. "Your presents! Torn and I went together, so they're from both of us,"

"You guys really didn't have to..." said Nyx, scratching at the back of her neck. 

Tess scoffed and physically swatted that statement away. "Of course we did!"

"The past few years have been hell, we haven't gotten to properly celebrate in a while. So this is making up for that,"

Nyx smiled and turned her head away as a few tears pricked at her eyes. What did she do to deserve such great friends? "Thanks, guys..."

Jak had finished up with the dishes by now, and moved around the table to grasp Nyx's shoulders. "You deserve it,"

Nyx snorted. "If you say so.

"You do," Jak insisted. "Now, which do you wanna do first? Cupcakes or presents?"

Nyx sighed and laughed. "Presents. I'm curious as to what these two came up with,"

"You're gonna love it!" Tess exclaimed, thrusting the ribbon covered bag into Nyx's hands. 

Nyx chuckled and started pulling the mass amounts of colorful tissue paper out of the equally colorful bag. It looked like Tess may have painted the bag herself... From the bag, Nyx pulled out a small wrapped box, rectangular in shape. 

She turned the box over in her hands a few times, feeling it's weight. It wasn't very heavy. She started peeling off the wrapping paper, trying to not make a huge mess from it. "Woah,"

"I know you've been complaining about your old ones, sooo I figurredd..." Tess let her sentence trail off as Nyx turned the item over in her hands.

It was a new pair of headphones, the rather expensive kind that Nyx never even considered looking at when she went shopping. "Tess. These are expensive as hell,"

"And? I can afford it," Tess replied, never failing to look nothing but sweet and angelic. 

Nyx blinked at her in complete shock, and then set the headphones box aside, digging back into the bag to pull out the next wrapped item. There was no use in gawking at Tess or trying to debate it, she realized. 

The next item was relatively small, and in a square box. It felt noticeably heavy, too. Nyx was careful in unwrapping this one, fearing it might be breakable. As she opened the box itself, she was proven right, as it contained a rainbow-colored diamond-shaped paperweight. "Oh, hey, colorful..."

"Shiny things never fail when it comes to you. I've come to depend on it," Torn chuckled. "That's real glass, by the way,"

"So don't drop it, understood," Nyx said, being very careful in setting the box onto the kitchen table. She then dove into the bag once again, this time pulling out an envelope that no doubt contained a birthday card. 

Nyx opened the envelope and pulled out the card. It was a pretty simple card, with balloons and 'Happy Birthday' on the cover. She opened it up to read the printed message inside. 'Hope you have a wonderful birthday!' it read. But below it were four written messages, each in distinct and familiar handwriting. 

The first was in a neat, girly cursive, which no doubt belonged to Tess. 'Happy birthday, Nyx! You're in your last teen year, how's that feel! We wanted you to know that you're still one of our favorite people ever, regardless of what happened! XOXOXO'

Below that was a second message, written in stiff and military-feeling handwriting. She definitely knew Torn's handwriting anywhere. 'I know the past few years have been complete shit, and I know I wasn't even around on your birthday last year. Hope you've forgiven me for that. But you're my little sister, you mean everything to me. Hopefully, I'll get to show you that more often now.'

The third message was written in quick and sloppy cursive that almost wasn't cursive. She never saw Daxter's handwriting much, but she knew it was definitely his. 'Hey there, birthday girl! I still can't believe you're older than us and yet you're tiny as all hell! Hey, guess it makes kissing Jak a challenge, right? And we know how much you love those.' Nyx had to smirk at that one. 

And the fourth message was written in a sloppy font that was definitely not cursive. It was Jak's, and she'd gotten pretty good at reading his chicken scratch, considering the fact that her own handwriting wasn't much better. It was the shortest message on the card, written right at the very bottom. 'Happy birthday. Turn around.'

Nyx turned slowly as she turned around, towards where Jak had previously been standing. Before she could even see what he was doing, his lips had pressed to her's, and he was sliding the card out of her hand. In it's place, he put a small box covered in a red velvet-like material. She didn't have to see it to know it was a jewelry box. 

Jak's hands moved to hold Nyx by her hips, and her arms snaked around his neck. Tess watched with the look of a hopeless romantic, and Daxter leaped up onto her shoulder to get a better view, grinning at them. Meanwhile, Torn pretended to just not see the whole thing at all. 

Nyx breathed a sigh as Jak finally pulled back. "Happy birthday. I love you," Jak whispered to her, clearly meaning every single syllable of it. 

"I love you, too," Nyx breathed, standing up on her tiptoes to lean her forehead against Jak's. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me..."

"Likewise," Jak replied. "Now open that,"

Nyx turned her attention to the small jewelry box in her hand. Most girls would assume something rather big of it, but she knew that Jak wasn't bold enough to go for that, yet. She opened the box slowly, inside finding one of those half-heart shaped pendants. She carefully picked it up, finding that Jak's name had been engraved into it. 

She breathed out a happy sigh and looked up at Jak. "It's beautiful,"

Jak's face turned a bit red, and he fiddled with something up under his scarf, momentarily pulling out the partner to the necklace that Nyx was holding. "I've uh. Got the other half,"

Nyx gaped at the other half of the necklace that Jak was wearing, with her name engraved on it. She blinked back a few tears that were trying to prick at her eyes. "The world doesn't deserve you, do you know that?"

"Maybe the world doesn't, but you do," Jak replied, slowly taking the necklace from her hands to put it around her neck. 

Once the silver necklace was fastened around her neck, Nyx reached up to hold it between her fingers. "I didn't know you could be so romantic, you little shit,"

"Only for you," Jak answered, smiling at her. She'd quite honestly never get tired of seeing him smile. 

Nyx breathed a laugh. "I love you so much,"

"Love you, too," Jak purred softly. "Now how about some cupcakes? After that we're going out,"

Nyx rolled her eyes. "You mean you're not done spoiling me?"

"Not by a long shot, honey!" Daxter piped up, leaping up onto her shoulder. "I got a lil' somethin' for ya, but it's probably still in the mailbox at the bar, so we'll stop by and get that later, m'kay?"

"Should I be afraid of what you got me, Dax?" Nyx asked as Jak moved from her side to open the cupcake box.

"Naaahhh," Daxter drawled. "It's somethin' you've been askin' for,"

Nyx raised an eyebrow, but chose to not question. "Well, alright then. Guess I'll just have to wait and find out, huh?"

Daxter hummed an affirmative and leaped off Nyx's shoulder to perch on the back of one of the chairs. How he managed that, Nyx didn't want to know. He had incredibly good balance, apparently. "So what kinda cupcakes do we got here? Chocolate, right?"

"Not like you particularly need that much sugar, but yes," Torn replied. "This one doesn't like vanilla,"

Nyx grinned over at Torn. "Awwww, you remembered!" she sang, clearly teasing her brother-figure. 

Torn rolled his eyes as Jak handed Nyx one of the cupcakes. She wasted no time in starting to lick the icing off of it bit by bit. "So what do you have planned when we 'go out' hmm?"

"It'd ruin the surprise if we told you! But everyone's gonna join us!" Tess exclaimed, taking the cupcake that Jak offered her.

"Yeah!" Daxter said, pausing to lick icing off his nose. "It's gonna be great, I promise!"

Nyx snorted. "I guess I'll just have to take your word on that, won't I?"

"Why don't you take mine?" Jak offered. "You'll love it,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, you guys were right. That was fun," Nyx laughed as she and Jak traipsed back into their room. 

"Told you it'd be fun," Jak chuckled.

They'd ended up going to the Naughty Ottsel for a round of drinks, where Daxter had presented Nyx with her mystery gift. It was a set of ear gauging tools, which she'd been saying she wanted to do ever since she got the second set of piercings in them. He'd special ordered them from Kras City, he said. 

After just enough alcohol to make both Nyx and Jak a bit tipsy, Daxter hauled out an old hologram projection system that Tess helped him set up, and they started watching a movie. Per Torn's advice, it was one of Nyx's favorites, a comedy called Noises Off!. She hadn't seen the movie in forever, and it was perhaps even funnier than she remembered it being. 

But the best part was watching a tipsy Jak laugh until he fell off his chair. That was one of those moments that she'd treasure forever. And Torn would probably hold over his head. 

"I should trust you more often when you say things will be fun," Nyx said. "But usually your idea of fun involves explosives,"

Though perhaps today had contained some explosives? Apparently Jinx had helped Jak whip up some custom fireworks that they set off after they were done with the movie, when the sun had officially gone down. They had been rather pretty, though loud and very much explosive. 

Jak laughed. "Not everything I do has to end in an explosion, I swear,"

"Just your work missions?" Nyx questioned.

"Yeah," Jak replied. "That sounds about right,"

Nyx scoffed and started heading for their bedroom, but Jak stopped her before she could even get down the small hallway. She suddenly found herself pressed against the wall, with Jak's lips pressed to her's. 

She reached up to card her hands through Jak's hair, which had gotten much longer since they'd met. It cascaded a few inches past the tops of his shoulder blades now, and she loved tangling her fingers in the thick mane. 

Jak pulled back after a few moments, resting his forehead against Nyx's. "I've got one more thing to give you, if you want it,"

Nyx looked up at Jak's eyes, seeing the suggestive look on his face. Suggestive, but romantic. She smiled up at him. "Do you even have to ask?"

Jak grinned and leaned in to kiss her again. His hands moved to hold her hips, and he slowly started pulling her pants downwards. 

Nyx breathed out through her nose and reached down to fumble with her fly, yanking it down. Her pants followed the downward motion, as did her underwear. Jak slowly moved his hands from her hips to rub his thumbs along the insides of her thighs, his calloused fingers dragging roughly against her skin. She inhaled sharply and whined at the touch, making Jak grin.

"So I take it Dax knew about your little plan?" Nyx panted as Jak teased his fingers along her skin. "That's why he stayed with Tess?"

"Mhm," Jak hummed, bowing his head down to start sucking at Nyx's neck. She whined and leaned her head back, letting it knock against the wall. 

Jak's fingers pulled higher on Nyx's thighs, getting much too close to that desperate place between her legs. She was expecting him to go for it any moment now, but he was taking his damn time. 

Nyx roughly tugged at Jak's hair, pulling a small hiss from the blond's lips. His touches were gentle, but there was power rippling beneath his muscles, and she was absolutely trying to drag it out of him. 

Jak knew it, too, and he was trying to hold out as long as he could. He wanted to make this good for her, not rough and desperate, the way Dark Eco caused it to be. He wanted to control himself this time. 

Nyx knew what Jak was up to, and laughed quietly. "You don't have to hold back, y'know,"

Jak pulled his mouth away from the red spot he was sucking into her neck, but only ever so slightly. "I want this to be special,"

Nyx shivered as his breath tickled her skin. "Doesn't mean you have to hold back on me, Jak,"

"I don't want this to be like the other times," Jak whispered. 'The other times' referring to the times when there was Dark Eco engulfing them both, complete with rough biting, growling, and clawing. Sometimes Jak would go Dark, but there would always be bruises and bite marks to show for it in the morning. He'd been horribly disgusted by himself the first time it happened. 

Nyx insisted that she liked it when he was rough with her, but he didn't want to be like that this time. Didn't want to hurt her. He wanted this to be like in the movies; Slow, sweet, passionate. He wanted it to reflect everything he felt about her. 

Nyx sighed and carded her hands through his hair more gently now. "I get it,"

"Thank you," Jak mumbled, then resumed the slow sucking of Nyx's neck. His thumbs trailed up her thighs some more, brushing against the edges of her core. 

Nyx inhaled sharply and whined, wishing that he'd stop taking it so slow. Patience was never really one of her virtues, after all. And she knew that it wasn't exactly one of Jak's, either. But he was determined to do this 'right', so she was going to let him. 

But it didn't mean that she was going to play 'fair'. She slid her hands from Jak's hair, to his shoulders, and from there began pulling at the straps to his Eco ring. She removed the heavy piece of armor, and tossed onto one of the chairs behind Jak. Maybe the wood would have some dents from where the heavy metal ring made contact, but she didn't exactly care. 

With his armor and straps now out of the way, Nyx dragged her hands down Jak's chest and abdomen, then slipped her hands up under his shirt to drag them back up. Her fingers were gentle as she traced them over the gross and messy scars that were all over Jak's chest. It took him time to get used to having the sensitive tissue touched, but by now he didn't even flinch. 

"Well you're determined to make this hard for me, aren't you?" Jak chuckled, reaching up with one hand to brush Nyx's bangs from her face so he could see both her eyes. 

Nyx smiled. "Yeah,"

Jak snorted and pulled back to entirely remove his shirt, tossing it onto the floor in some random place. Then he moved back in, finding a new place on Nyx's neck to bite, and his hands returning to the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. 

With all his scars now in plain sight, Nyx started running her fingers gently over each and every one of them. She started with his arms, with the ones around his wrists from where he'd pulled and yanked at handcuffs for two years. Then she moved up to the random ones on his forearms and biceps, which were all likely from Metal Heads and other enemies. She traced her hands over his shoulders, where there didn't happen to be any noticeable scars, and back down to his chest. 

That was of course where the majority of his scarring was. The Dark Eco had left lightning-like scars all over Jak's chest, and they trailed down to just barely scrape over the upper part of his belly. They were ugly and thick, looked a complete mess, and perhaps even bordered on keloid status. They were much to brutal and gross for someone of Jak's age to have. Most experienced soldiers would grimace upon seeing them. 

And maybe Nyx had been shocked and grossed out the first few times she saw them, but she didn't care now. They were part of Jak, and she loved him. Loved every goddamn part of him, including those ugly messes that were a constant reminder of what Errol had done to him. 

She was careful as she traced her finger over each branch of the lightning-like scars, knowing how sensitive they were. She made sure to not let her nails drag over them; Just her fingertips. 

Jak breathed out a sigh as her soft fingers traced the sensitive flesh. It felt good to be touched. She was the only who would likely ever touch him like this, and he would never get tired of it. 

Nyx traced the scars from the top of Jak's chest all the way down to his tummy, and then kept going, tracing the few jagged scars across his abdomen, which were also likely from Metal Heads and a lack of Eco to properly heal them. 

From there, Nyx started hastily undoing Jak's pants, yanking them down to the floor to join her's. She slipped her fingers inside the waistband of Jak's boxers, teasing more sensitive skin. 

Jak bit his lip and rested his head in the curve of Nyx's neck. He breathed hard as she slid her hands lower and lower, finally brushing them against his hardness. His breath shuddered, and he reached up to fist his hands in the back of her hair. 

Nyx smirked, and started slowly toying with Jak's member, being sure that her touches were nothing more than ghosting her fingers across his skin. 

Jak whined, a sound that no one else would likely ever get to hear from him. His hands pulled hard in Nyx's hair, before he dropped them down to slide them under the back of Nyx's shirt. He fumbled with her bra clasp, still not understanding how the damn thing worked. But eventually he got it undone, and forced Nyx to move her hands so he could drag it and her shirt off of her. 

Nyx grinned as the rest of her clothes were abolished, and dipped her hands back down to keep teasing Jak. Meanwhile, Jak started doing exactly what she'd been doing to him; Tracing his fingers over scars.

Her's weren't as bad as his. She'd only been in that prison for not much longer than a week, but the lightning-like scars were still vivid around the place where the needle had gone in. They didn't spread as far as his, but they were still ugly and much too grotesque for someone of Nyx's age. She was less than a full year older than him, after all. 

Jak's fingers were much more clumsy and rough compared to Nyx's, but she didn't mind them dragging over her skin. Her scars also weren't as sensitive as Jak's, though it had taken time for her to be used to having them touched. Jak had been rather shocked when he'd first seen them, which happened to have been the first time they had sex. 

They were both used to each other's scars by now, though, and it was like routine for them to do this. Jak shivered as Nyx's touching in his shorts became a little more noticeable, a little more rough. Her bit his lip almost hard enough to draw blood, and slid his hands back down to between her thighs.

He went a little further this time, though, ghosting his fingers over her entrance, making her gasp and whimper. He grinned at the sound and kept going, dragging his fingers over her as she got wetter. 

In response, Nyx made the move to yank Jak's boxers completely down, and then took his member in her hand, beginning to stroke and pump slowly. Jak bit out a moan from behind where he was biting his lip. 

Nyx's other hand came up to direct Jak's lips back to her's, freeing his lower lip from his teeth in the process. Once the connection was made, that hand moved to fist itself in Jak's thick hair, pulling slightly. 

Bit by bit, the touching and rubbing and kissing got rougher and rougher, until they were practically grinding into each other desperately. Jak's fingers finally slipped into Nyx's folds, making her whine and cry into the kiss. They were nearly chest-to-chest, trying to get as close as possible without interfering with the downstairs action. 

Nyx felt she was close to going over the edge, when Jak stopped, pulling his fingers out and grabbing the hand that was stroking him. "Don't get carried away..."

"Jak..." Nyx whined. She didn't want him to stop so suddenly, but clearly he had a better idea than just helping each other jack off...

"C'mon," Jak rasped, using Nyx's arm to lead her into the bedroom, leaving all their clothes in the other room. 

Once in the bedroom, Jak sat Nyx down on the bed, and had her lay down. He moved to hover on top of her, before starting to kiss her again. His hands roamed down her sides and tummy, while her's fisted tightly in his hair. 

Nyx found herself desperately grinding against Jak, trying to tell him to stop playing with her already and just do her. 

Jak got the message loud and clear, but chose to make her wait just a little longer, kissing her deeply. But eventually, Jak pulled away, and pulled Nyx's legs open. He lined himself up, and slowly began thrusting into her. 

Nyx cried out as Jak entered her, tightly grasping his shoulders to stabilize him. She panted and cried as he completely sheathed himself inside her, and stayed still for a moment, letting her get used to the feeling. 

And then, slowly but surely, he started thrusting in and out, setting a slow but steady rhythm to start things off. Nyx was desperate, though, her hands moving down to Jak's hips, trying to get him to go faster. 

Eventually, Jak obliged to the silent request, picking up the pace and thrusting harder. Nyx cried and gasped, clawing at Jak's hips, now. She was so close. So damn close.

It was a few moments later that Nyx tumbled over the edge, her voice turning to almost nothing but breath as she came. Jak followed soon after, and then collapsed at Nyx's side, panting heavily. 

They both took a moment to catch their breath, before Nyx laughed. "That... Was great..."

"I aim to please," Jak replied with a breathy chuckle. 

"Too bad I won't have any marks to show for it in the morning," Nyx jested, staring up at the slightly swimming ceiling. 

Jak was silent for a moment, before he turned his head towards her. "Wanna go again?"


	7. A Much Needed Heart-To-Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haven City is being overrun by Metal Heads and KG Death Bots, the former of which manage to take out the entirety of the Palace. A Council big-wig named Veger decides to blame Jak for this, as well as the death of Baron Praxis. Nyx refuses to let this go down quietly, and ends up getting herself into a whole load of trouble.

"Report!" Samos barked into his communicator, striding towards the edge of the Palace balcony, Jak and Nyx following right behind him.

"It's bad," Torn responded, his voice crackling in and out. "The city's become a battlefield. Mechanized death bots have taken the industrial section, and the surviving Metal Heads have expanded their hold on the west side! We're losing ground on all fronts!" 

"The council's meeting tonight in emergency session," Ashelin said. "Rumblings about you, Jak. It doesn't look good. They think your friendship with Krew helped the Metal Heads get into the city,"

Jak turned to his friends and shook his head. "You don't believe that, do you?"

"Of course not!" Nyx hissed, grabbing Jak's arm perhaps a bit harder than she needed to. 

"What's in the past is done," Samos said firmly. "Right now, Metal Heads are assaulting the Palace, they're looking for something and I have no idea what!"

It was seconds after Samos finished his sentence that something plowed into the Palace, and promptly exploded. The whole building began to shake a wobble, crumbling at the base and threatening to topple over. 

Jak cursed under his breath and pulled Nyx to his side, trying to steady her as they all struggled to keep their balence. The explosions at the base of the Palace continued, and the whole building began to pitch to the side, falling steadily towards the city below it.

"Heeeeeeellllppp!! We're falling!!" Daxter screamed, clinging to Jak's pauldron for dear life. 

The whirr of a Hellcat could be heard over the crumbling of brick, and Torn's voice then sounded over all of it. "Over here! Jump!"

The Hellcat that Torn was piloting pulled up by the falling Palace, and Jak wasted no time in shoving Nyx onto the zoomer, he and Samos following shortly after. 

As they sped away from the Palace, Nyx watched behind them as it came crashing down to the ground. Her face was blank, as if she couldn't process what had just happened. She'd come to know the Palace as home for the past year, and now that was gone. For the second time in her life, home had been ripped away from her. 

Jak gently grabbed Nyx's arm, and ran his thumb over it. "Nyx..."

"This shouldn't be happening..." Nyx mumbled, her voice weak. "I thought we won..."

"There's always gonna be another battle," Torn said, having overheard her. "There's no such thing as permanently winning,"

Nyx sighed, and watched as Torn circled back around to the Palace, now that the dust had settled. They all gasped as they saw what was beneath the ground the Palace had previously occupied.

"By the Precursors..." Samos mumbled as they all stared down into the deep tunnel below the Palace. How had none of them known that was there?

"What is that?" Nyx mumbled, leaning over Jak to get a better look. "It looks like... There's Precursor tech down there..."

"I... Have no idea..." Samos replied. Everyone exchanged glances after that. Samos was the wisest person they knew, and if he didn't know...

Ashelin shook her head and motioned for Torn to flee the scene. "We'll have to worry about it later... At least now we know what the Metal Heads were looking for..."

Nyx sighed and shared a look with Jak and Daxter. "This isn't good... The Palace is gone... And they're gonna blame you..."

"I won't let them do anything brash," Ashelin said. "Maybe Jak's done some illegal things, but above that, he's one of my best soldiers, and he's done some immense good. Besides, there's no proof that any of this was his fault,"

Nyx wanted to fight Ashelin, wanted to tell her that if people disliked Jak enough, they'd find a way to get rid of him. It was no secret that not everyone liked the 'Dark Eco Freak' and his mouthy orange rat as much as they did. But Nyx didn't have it in her to fight this time, so she just sighed and hung her head. 

Jak reached up to cup her face and make her look at him. "It's gonna be fine,"

Nyx nodded, because there wasn't much else she could do when staring into those honest blue eyes. His face was always so easy to read, and right now he wholeheartedly believed what he was telling her. 

Nyx sighed and pulled herself back together. There was plenty of time to have a breakdown later. For now, she leaned over the driver's seat to speak to Torn. "So now what do we do?"

"We've still got HQ," Torn said. "We need to get back there and start formulating a plan to push back the Metal Heads and the KG death bots..."

"We still have no idea who the new KG leader is, do we?" Nyx asked. The attacks had started about three months after the Baron's death, and no one knew who was calling the shots. The fact that robots didn't talk made things even harder. 

Torn solemnly shook his head. "No fucking clue,"

Nyx sighed in frustration. "And these Metal Head attacks feel too planned, as well... There's definitely something going on here..."

Torn sighed. "I know. But for now, we've got to focus on not losing anymore of the city. Jak, can you do that?"

Jak nodded. "Absolutely. What do you need me to do?"

"Let's wait until we get to HQ, I'll make us a plan. Silas can go with you as backup," Torn replied. "I'm not a fan of sending one-man armies if I don't have to,"

"But Jak is a one-man army..." Daxer interjected. 

Torn shook his head. "Not the point. He's not indestructible,"

Nyx shivered at the idea of sending Jak into the middle of the Metal Head or KG assaults... She didn't want to lose him... Didn't want to make this like last time... 

But she supposed she had no choice, right? They were soldiers, and this was what soldiers did... 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Slow down, Daxter," Torn hissed. "Run that by me again,"

The panicked ottsel took a deep breath, and forced himself to speak at a reasonable pace. "Jak and Silas decided to split up to cover more ground, because there were Metal Heads literally everwhere! Jak and I cleared out the Metal Heads we found no problem, and we were on our way back when some old guy with some guards stopped us! Said his name was 'Veger'. He said that Jak was under arrest for crimes against the city! And they just. Took him from me!"

Nyx stared upon hearing the news that Jak had been arrested. Taken from them. First there was disbelief, then fear, then dispair. Ashelin had promised she wouldn't let them take Jak, but here they were... Nyx reached out to scoop Daxter into her arms and held him to her chest. She didn't know what she was meant to say...

Daxter burrowed into her shirt, trying to hide the way he was shaking. It wasn't easy, watching his best friend be arrested and taken from him for the second time in three years. It hurt like hell, actually. Left a burning hole in his heart that he thought he'd sealed up a long time ago. 

"Ashelin's gonna fix this," said Torn, who had gone quiet upon hearing the news. "She doesn't know, but once she does, she's gonna fix this,"

"She better!" Daxter yelled. "'Cause if I...! If I have to lose Jak again..." his sentence trailed off, and Nyx pulled him closer. 

"You're not gonna lose him, I swear. I won't let that happen," Nyx whispered into the ottsel's ear.

That was when the HQ door slid open, and Ashelin stalked back in. "They arrested Jak,"

"Yeah! We know!" Daxter yelled, leaning so far towards Ashelin that Nyx almost dropped him. "You gonna do somethin' about it?!"

"You can bet your tail I will," Ashelin replied. "We need to compile as much evidence as possible in Jak's favor,"

Torn was moving immediately, heading for their files. "I'll check our files,"

Ashelin nodded. "I need you two to come with me. You both need to reassess and validate what you saw when my father died. I get the feeling they'll try placing the blame for that on Jak, too..."

"We all know that Jak didn't do that!" Nyx protested, but followed Ashelin anyways, Daxter still in her arms. 

"We know. But the council might use it against us if they really want him gone. You three are the only ones who survived that mess. There's no true proof of Kor ever being there,"

Nyx gaped and sputtered as she tried to find words. Daxter picked up the slack as she tried to find her voice again. "What? The fact that he was burned and dismembered by a giant laser wasn't enough?! Jak has claws, man! He couldn't have caused that damage! If he'd killed your dad, he would've been all cut up and eviscerated! Not burned and blown open!" 

"I know," Ashelin responded firmly. "But the council doesn't see it that way. They don't believe they've seen all of what Jak is capable of. They think he's a monster, and I'm afraid that Jak believes it, too,"

Daxter sighed and deflated, sinking into Nyx's arms. "This is all Errol's fault..."

"If they're calling Jak out for all this bullshit, why aren't they coming after me! I was there! I have dark eco in my veins, too!" Nyx asked. "Why just him?"

Ashelin sighed. "They might still come after you, if their evidence can damn you, too,"

Daxter shook his head. "Nuh-uh! They ain't takin' both of ya!"

"If I have anything to say about it, they aren't taking anyone," Ashelin replied. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Your honor, we have no idea what this dark eco-infused creature is capable of," Veger insisted, using such a manipulative tone of voice as he spoke to the judge. 

It made Nyx's blood boil. There was no actual boiling of course, but there was sparking. Dark eco sparking in her veins, telling her to goddamn do something about this. But like Daxter next to her, she was forcing herself to keep her mouth tightly shut unless asked to speak. 

When she wasn't glaring at Veger, Nyx's eyes were locked on Jak. And Jak was looking everywhere but at her and Daxter. He looked angry, but resigned. Like he was accepting the fact that this was happening. That the people he nearly died to protect were betraying him. It broke Nyx's heart to see Jak not fighting. She'd never known Jak to do anything but fight. And now he was giving up...

It was because he believed them. He believed them when they told him he was a monster. Believed that they had every right to think that he killed Praxis and that he let the Metal Heads in. He believed that they were right to not want him. 

And it absolutely pissed Nyx off. 

"Your honor, I object!" Ashelin exclaimed. "There's no way Jak could have killed my father! Nyx Blythe and Daxter were with him at the time, and they both report that Kor fired a laser at my father's troops. Jak has claws in his 'Dark' form, not lasers or fire. You have photos of my father's body, which was burned and disfigured by something massive. Jak couldn't have physically done that,"

"But he is a killer, your honor!" Veger protested. "There are numerous reports of entire KG patrols being ripped to shreds by this beast!"

"The old KG is defunct," Ashelin argued. "Jak is now part of the new Freedom League, he practically helped found it! It doesn't matter what he did to old KG units because they tried to kill him. He was only defending himself. He's never turned on anyone who didn't threaten him first. Besides, he's not the only one who's killed members of the old KG. Practically every former Underground member has done that,"

Veger growled. "He is still an unpredictable monster! He's infused with dark eco! It's only a matter of time before his bloodlust makes him turn on us all! I've seen what he did to those patrols, your honor. He shredded them with claws and with teeth. Sometimes they couldn't even figure out which pieces came from whom,"

That was when Nyx's snapped. Torn grabbed at her as she shot up from her seat, but he wasn't fast enough to stop the words from leaving her mouth. "This is bullshit! Ashelin's right, the old KG is defunct! It doesn't matter what he did to them, because he's part of the new government! And he isn't a goddamn monster! I've seen him in his 'Dark' form! I've stood right before him and he never made a move to hurt me!"

Veger's face twisted into something vicious for just a moment, before he regained his composure. "Perhaps because the two of you are in this together? Two monsters hiding amongst us. Yes, I know, you received the same dark eco treatments as Jak..."

Nyx narrowed her eyes at Veger, rage and dark eco burning behind her eyes. She wanted to leap over that table and teach Veger a lesson, but she resisted. To do so would be to prove him right. She saw Jak go tense as he stared at Veger. Even from a distence she could see the eco start to spark off him. He didn't like people threatening her...

There it was, Nyx thought. Veger coming after her, finally. Some part of her was relieved that he wasn't going to just target Jak. Perhaps he'd initially left her be, but now that she'd given him a reason, he would come after her. Another part of her was pissed that he was doing this to any of them, though. 

"Hey! Hey! Neither of my pals are monsters! If Jak goes all 'Tall, Dark, and Gruesome', it's to protect himself or someone he loves! Nyx got shot this one time and he transformed to protect her! Does that sound like a monster to you? And this was before Errol got his filthy hands on her!" Daxter nearly screamed, leaping up onto Nyx's shoulder, as if he could protect her. 

Jak was giving them this look, like he was begging them to shut up and take this sitting down. But neither of them were going to do that, and after a few moments, he realized that. So he turned the look to Torn, begging the Captain to stop his girlfriend and best friend from being stupid. 

Torn caught the look and nodded slowly to tell Jak that he understood. He grabbed Nyx's arm, and tried to get her to sit back down. "Nyx, there's nothing you know that Ashelin doesn't, let her handle this,"

"Oh, no, no," said Veger. "This proves my deepest fears; Jak was not working alone when he killed the Baron, when he let the Metal Heads into our city. No, he had an acomplice. Her,"

Daxter dug his claws into Nyx's shoulders, and glared little ottsel daggers at the horrible man. "That's yakkow shit and you know it! No one 'let' the Metal Heads in! Least of all Jak or Nyx! Jak and I were workin' with Krew to get info outta him, we were never even friends with that tub o' lard!"

Torn's grip on Nyx's arm tightened as Veger accused her of being an 'acomplice' to something that wasn't even true. There was no way he was letting these assholes take Nyx from him, nor Jak from Nyx. 

Jak looked like he was ready to leap from the witness stand and tear Veger to pieces, but he was reigning himself in. He knew his own fate, there was no reason to make it worse, was there? But at the least, he could try to keep Nyx from going down with him. "Veger! Your honor! I won't fight against what you decide to do to me! But leave Nyx out of this! She's innocent! She was just a stock manager for the Underground! She only followed me to the Baron's death site because she loves me! That's it. She has nothing to do with any of this,"

"He's right," Torn rasped. "She followed him because she's in love with him, she didn't expect to find the Baron and see him be killed. And she's never even met Krew before," okay, maybe that last part was a lie, but there was no evidence to prove it.

Veger hummed. "I suppose it will be up to the honorable Judge to decide, won't it?" he turned towards said Judge, tapping his fingers togther. "So, your honor, what will it be?"

"After considering all the evidence that has been provided to me..." the Judge began, reading over some of the papers before him. "I believe I must rule in favor of Count Veger. Jak and Nyx Blythe are to be exiled from Haven City, for crimes of violence against the city and her people,"

As the Judge's hammer came down on the table, many things happened. Torn's grip on Nyx's arm became vice-like, dark eco began to spark off of Jak, and Nyx reached up to grab Daxter. 

In the next moment, Daxter was being thrust into Torn's arms, and Nyx was leaping over the table to rush across the room. At first, Torn thought she was going for Veger, but then he saw Jak, skin whitening and teeth sharpening. 

As Veger moved away from Jak, Nyx crashed into the dark eco fueled man, slamming him back into the witness stand with all of her might, letting her own dark eco powers bolster her strength. 

Jak cried out in anger as his back hit the witness stand, and the flimsy wood cracked and buckled under the force. A clawed hand lunged for Veger, but Nyx grabbed it, her own eyes slightly darkened. "Jak, no!"

Jak stared at her with endless inky eyes as she yelled at him. He didn't understand why she was stopping him. "Don't do this, Jak. You're just proving them right,"

Jak continued to stare for just a moment, but then he groaned and pulled back on the eco inside him. The color soon came back to his body, and his eyes faded to blue once again. He slumped back against the broken pillar that was the witness stand, and closed his eyes. She was right. He'd just proved that he was an unstable monster. 

But that was something he'd known for a long time...

"You see?!" Veger yelled. "You see what he is?! A monster!"

Nyx turned to glare daggers at Veger. But she kept her mouth shut. If she opened it to retort, she knew she'd regret it. 

Ashelin was staring in pure horror at what had just happened, and Torn looked like he was about to pass out, with a seething Daxter held in his numb arms. Neither Torn nor Ashelin had seen 'Dark Jak' until then. And it was true that he was terrifying... But Nyx had tackled him down without getting hurt, and she'd talked him down... Didn't that count for something?

Nyx's body begged for her to do something as she heard armored boots rushing up behind them, but she ignored the feeling. She knew what had to happen next, and she knew that it was entirely her fault that she was in this now. Jak grabbed her arm and was about to move, but there were guards tearing them away from each other before Jak could do anything. 

Nyx didn't fight as her arms were wrenched behind her back and cuffed together. She so badly wanted to, but she didn't want to prove to Veger that she was just like Jak. If she rode it out long enough, fear and panic would override the dark eco and anger. She'd normally hate that, but today she was counting on it. 

Jak snarled as he was yanked to his feet and also handcuffed. But he didn't fight, either. Because he felt he deserved it. They were right about him, weren't they?

As Jak and Nyx were lead away to places unknown, Ashelin rushed up the aisles to Torn, who still looked like he was going to pass out. Daxter had gone limp in his arms and was staring helplessly at his friends. 

It didn't help matters when Jak turned around to lock eyes with Daxter, and smiled. That burning hole in the ottsel's heart was getting bigger, threatening to consume him. He didn't hear the words exchanged between Ashelin and Torn, he just kept staring at the door they'd taken Jak and Nyx out through, silently wishing they'd come back. 

Daxter did notice when Torn started moving, however. Ashelin was leading them towards the front doors, and her walk said that she meant business. Daxter wrenched himself free from Torn's grasp, and rushed up to Ashelin on legs numb with fear. "Alright, Red! So what the hell do we do now?!"


	8. Exile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Branded by Veger as criminals, Nyx and Jak are exiled from Haven City, left to die in the unforgiving Wastelands. Daxter and Pecker join them, and together they nearly die from heatstroke. They find themselves rescued by the people of a mysterious desert city called Spargus, and suddenly they've found themselves in a whole new adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Nyx isn't initially a huge fan of Damas. She'll warm up to him eventually.

As the air train touched down and the door opened, everyone present was immediately hit by the immense heat of the Wastelands. They were a long way from Haven, and were literally in the middle of nowhere by now. This was where Veger was going to leave them. This was where they were likely going to die.  
    

The two guards who came along as security roughly escorted Veger's prisoners off of the craft, and out into the desert, shoving them a few times to make them move faster. Veger and Ashelin followed, and Veger had a look of triumph on his face as he addressed the two renegades he was finally getting rid of.  
    

"By order of the grand council of Haven City, for heinous acts and crimes against the people, you are hereby banished to the Wastelands, for life," Veger announced, almost unable to hide his wicked smile as he closed the large book he was holding.  
    

"This is a death sentence, Veger," Ashelin said, gesturing firmly at the taller man. "There must be another way,"  
    

"Your protest was overruled. These dark eco freaks are dangerous! Now drop the cargo!" Veger yelled, motioning towards Nyx and Jak during the last part of his sentence.  
    

"This is an outrage!" a very familiar voice then yelled. Everyone in attendance turned to see the monkaw that was suddenly at the entrance of the aircraft. Veger wondered just how this little vermin wound up on his ship... "I am outraged beyond words! Although I do have something to say..."  
    

"Not everyone agrees with this ridiculous decree!" Pecker yelled, managing to finish his sentence despite having Daxter suddenly drop down on top of him.  
    

"Yeah!" the ottsel yelled. "We want a recount!"  
    

"Oh, I see you wish to join them?" Veger growled, taking a few steps towards the animals who had somehow slipped aboard his transport.  
     As this transpired, Jak and Nyx stared blankly at Daxter. Of course he had come after them, of course he had. Jak should have known Daxter wouldn't walk away, as much as he would haved liked it if his best friend had. But they were best friends for a reason.  
    

"Actually," Pecker said, suddenly a bit nervous as he began backing up into the ship. "We are not that outraged... Farewell, my friends! Stay out of the sun! Drink lots of water - If you can find it,"  
    

Daxter visably deflated as Pecker betrayed him, his ears lowering. "Jak...?"  
    

"Go back to the city, Dax," Jak ordered as Ashelin walked up to him and Nyx to release the restraints around their wrists.  
    

"I'm sorry," Ashelin said. "The council is too powerful, there was nothing I-"  
    

"I know," Jak interupting her appology quickly. He'd had enough time to make peace with this. Even if he'd saved the city, he was still a monster to them. And because of Praxis and maybe even because of him, they saw Nyx in a similar light. And so they both had to go.  
    

Ashelin reached out to clasp Jak's hand, slipping a small rounded beacon into it. "You just stay alive, you hear me? That's an order, both of you. Someone will find you, I promise,"  
    

And then Ashelin turned back towards the transport and began to board it. Meanwhile, Veger waved his staff high and gave one final line that didn't give either outcast much hope. "May the Precursors have mercy on you,"  
     

The transport then took off, no sooner than Ashelin had boarded it. It kicked up a large cloud of sand and dust as it did so, making Jak and Nyx cough and shield their eyes from the debris.  
     

When the debris began to clear, Jak looked down at the flashing beacon in his hands, but that was when he heard the familiar coughing. He didn't have to ask or question, he knew who that was. "Daxter!"  
    

It took a moment for the dust to clear and the two small figures in the sand to be visible, but they were definitively Daxter and Pecker.  
     

"Don't thank me," Daxter said as he and Pecker brushed themselves off. "I'm only here because you two wouldn't last a second without me!"  
    

Despite the fact that Jak would have liked it if Daxter stayed in Haven, he couldn't help but smile at his friend as he and Nyx approached Daxter and Pecker. Jak supposed they were indeed inseperable, weren't they?  
     

"Alright, tough guy. You got us into this, now you've gotta get us out," Daxter continued, placing his hands on his hips.  
     

"Well," Nyx sighed, looking around them. "We've got desert on that side... Aaaannnd desert on that side, too... Actually, we've got desert on all sides so. I guess we just pick a way and hope it's a good one, yeah?"  
     

Jak sighed. "Yeah, it looks like that's how it's gonna be,"  
    

"I say we go that way," Pecker announced, using his wing to point to his left.  
    

"No, I say we go that way!" Daxter argued, pointing off to his right. This prompted him and Pecker to then get in each other's faces.  
    

"Ooooh, and I suppose you know where you're going, eh?" Pecker asked.  
    

"Better than you do, bent beak!" Daxter retorted.  
    

Jak groaned and drug a hand down his face. He loved Daxter, he really did, but man did the guy have an attitude. He turned around and motioned for Nyx to follow him in some random direction. "Let's just move,"  
    

Nyx obliged to Jak's choice of direction, and the two animals behind them had no choice but to do so as well. One direction was no better than the other, after all, right?  
    

It was aproximately an hour later when Daxter and Pecker started to regret jumping off that air train... "This... Was all your stupid idea!" Pecker groaned, giving up on flying and dropping to the ground.  
    

"Nooooo, it was yours," Daxter replied, poking the monkaw in the face. "Only a birdbrain coulda thought this one up! 'Let's go with him! We'll help together!' You mean we'll die together!"  
    

There was a pause as Daxter's short burst of anger deflated. "I can't believe the city hates us... We saved those low-lives!"  
    

Nyx turned, focusing her unsteady gaze on Daxter. "The city doesn't hate you, Daxter. You didn't have to come..."  
    

"Yeah, well I wasn't gonna watch some asshole take Jak away from me a second time!" Daxter retorted. "Nuh-uh! Once was enough!"  
    

Nyx sighed and watched residual guilt pass over Jak's face upon hearing that. "You two are attatched at the hip, huh?"  
    

"That's right! The demolition duo are a packaged deal!" Daxter announced.  
    

"And what about you, eh? You could've just kept your mouth shut and you'd still be in Haven," Pecker said, staring at Nyx.  
    

Nyx sighed again, and turned her gaze back towards the desert in front of her. But she saw the way Jak shifted to look at her. He knew why she hadn't kept her mouth shut.  
    

There wasn't much talking after that, because talking is hard when you're struggling to breathe and stay conscious. The Wastelands were brutal, namely because of the sun always beating down on it.  
    

Nyx had never been good in the heat, and now was no exception. She'd begun falling behind at some point, barely able to keep up with even Daxter. And her will to keep on going was weakening with each step she forced herself to take.  
    

She was so focused on staying upright after a while, that she didn't even notice when Jak collapsed, and thus she tripped over him and landed face-first in the sand next to him. She saw Daxter hit the ground a few feet away, as darkness bled into her vision. She tried to fight it, but there was nothing she could do. This was it.  
    

The last thing she heard was Jak mumbling that he loved her.

* * *

  
  
As Nyx scrubbed the sand and sweat from her hair, she thought about how lucky they were to be alive. The Wastelands were brutal; If the sun didn't kill you, the Marauders would. And they'd come pretty close to dying of heatstroke out there, Nyx learned.  
    

The fact that she was rather sunburned was proof of that. It would fade into a tan eventually, but for now it was a constant reminder of how goddamn lucky she was.  
    

She still couldn't believe that people had found them, that there was a whole city out in the Wastelands. Spargus, the nice doctor lady said it was called. She'd woken up in their infirmary, with a ragged-looking Jak holding her hand and telling her to not freak out about the IV in said hand.  
    

She freaked out anyways, having never been a huge fan of needles, but Jak was there, and that made everything easier. Once the IV was done away with, things calmed down. After a quick check-up with the doctor, they were permitted to take showers and get themselves cleaned up.  
    

The intense water pressure against her burned skin hurt like hell, but she understood why it needed to be so rough; Sand was a stubborn bitch to get rid of. And she got the feeling she'd be seeing a lot more sand in the upcoming future.  
    

Feeling clean enough, Nyx shut off the water and stepped out of the small cubicle that was the infirmary shower. She grabbed the towel that had been left for her, and began drying off. She'd already been given new clothes, ones that were more 'Wastelander' appropriate, and once dry, she changed into them. She ran her hands back through her hair, staring at herself in the dusty and cracked mirror. Sighing, she grabbed one of the hairclips she requested, and dragged most of her bangs back, pinning them against her head.  
    

The nice clothing lady had suggested she cut it a bit shorter, but there was no way she was doing that. She'd been trying to grow it out for years now, after all. After her hair was dealt with, she took one more look at herself, and then exited the bathroom into the main hallway of the infirmary.  
    

Jak was in the hallway, waiting near the opposite door, which was the men's bathroom. The two made eye contact, and held it. Seeing Jak and knowing that he was still alive was enough to calm any worries Nyx might have had. As long as she had Jak, everything would be fine, right?  
    

Daxter was sat on Jak's shoulder, right where he should be, combing out his wet fur with his fingers. "Heya! That's a new look, eh?"  
    

"Yeah," Nyx replied, crossing the hallway to get a better look at Jak. "I've never liked skirts much, but oh well,"  
    

Nyx reached up to run her fingers back through Jak's hair, which was now much shorter than it had been. The sleeves of his shirt had also been ripped off, and he was wearing some kind of slatted sash thing around his waist. It was a different look than she was used to for him, but then again, she probably looked a little weird, too.  
    

"I know you liked it long..." Jak said. "But I'd rather not die of heatstroke,"  
    

Nyx laughed dryly. "Yeah, I kinda prefer you alive, thank you very much,"  
    

Jak smirked. "I've never seen you with your hair up, it looks good,"  
    

"Thanks," Nyx replied. "I wasn't going to let them cut it,"  
    

A soft laugh from the other side of the hall caught their attention. "If it gets too long, you'll change your mind. The desert isn't a very kind place,"  
    

"Yeeeaahhh," Daxter drawled. "We kinda noticed..."  
    

"King Damas is ready to see you," the new woman said, smiling warmly. She had dark skin, like many Wastelanders, and wore her hair short and cropped. She didn't appear to be a nurse or doctor, so she was clearly a messenger of some kind.  
    

Jak nodded. "Let's go, then,"  
    

The woman proceeded to then lead Jak and Nyx through the infirmary halls, and out into the city of Spargus. The city had a nearly pre-historic feel, with everything being stone and brick, instead of metal and neon. There was also sand, lots of sand... Nyx mentally groaned at the idea of dealing with more sand in awful places.  
    

Spargus was bustling with people going to and fro, working on this and that. No one stopped to look at the newcomers, aside from giving them sidelong glances as they passed. They all kept working hard, despite the insane heat of the Wastelands.  
    

It was nothing like Haven, Nyx decided. And even though Haven wasn't always the best place to live, being stranded in some foreign city full of sand wasn't very comforting.  
    

Jak and Nyx were led through the city to an elevator near the back. The woman stopped at the elevator, and motioned to it. "King Damas is waiting for you,"  
    

Jak gave the woman a solidary nod, and lead the way into the elevator. As the contraption began it's upward ascent, all three of it's occupants exchanged glances. They had no idea what to expect from this King Damas person, and it left them all a bit nervous.  
    

The elevator opened up into what was definitively a throne room. The huge chair at the back was the biggest giveaway, but the smooth stone that made up the floor, and the pools of water that broke up said floor was another giveaway that this room was not just another room.  
     

Sitting on the huge throne in the back, was a man with darker skin (Though not as dark as someone like Sig) and nearly silver-gray hair. He held a kingly staff, which cemented the fact that yes, this was his throne room. They all assumed that this man was Damas.  
    

Again, Jak took the lead as they approached, standing tall even in the face of mighty authority. Nyx followed behind him, unsure of what to expect, and also ready to fight.  
    

"Well, you've come back from the dead, have you?" Damas said as the trio approached him. "And my monks were ready to pray for you. I am Damas, King of Spargus,"  
    

"...I didn't think anyone lived out here in the Wastelands... Not a whole city, at least..." Nyx said slowly.  
    

Damas nodded, walking down the steps to meet them more eye-to-eye. "Ah, yes. We are the forgotten ones. Haven City's refuse, thrown out and left to die! Just as you were. But now that you have been saved, your lives belong to the people of Spargus. And we will use them well, if they're actually worth anything,"  
    

"Heeeyy! That sounds like a bad deal!" Daxter complained, stamping his little paws on the ground.  
    

"You are in no position to deal! Out here, everything is either useful, or dead weight! You will prove yourselves worthy, or the desert will be your grave!" Damas barked.  
    

Jak narrowed his eyes and glared at Damas. "You need to work on making a better first impression..."  
     

Damas scoffed. "In the unforgiving Wasteland, we value strength and survival above all, we will see where you stand soon enough. Complete your training, then enter the arena. Just the bravest crawl out and are allowed to stay in Spargus. It's quite simple, really,"  
    

"Uuuuhhh... What happens to the ones that don't crawl out?" Daxter asked slowly, sounding nervous.  
    

"Then it will be as if we never found you," Damas replied flatly.  
    

Daxter swallowed hard. "I was afraid of that..."  
    

"Am I the only one who has a problem with this guy thinking he owns us?" Nyx asked, finally choosing to speak again. She'd gone quiet as this Damas guy spoke about their lives belonging to him and all that bullshit. She didn't particularly like the sound of it...  
    

Damas shot her a fierce glare, and it took all she had to not buckle underneath it. "We saved your pitiful lives. And Haven has clearly done away with you. If you're not interested in our charity, you can return to the Wastelands, if you wish,"  
    

"That's not what she said," Jak hissed. "But neither of us are interested in being toys for some tyrant. We've already been there,"  
    

"Fear not," said Damas. "Our work is hard, but honest. You will find your place, if there is one to be found for you,"  
    

Jak and Nyx exchanged glances. Jak looked... Open. Ready to try it. Nyx on the other hand, looked rather closed and not ready to accept a damn thing this guy said. But she sighed, and nodded. They had no choice, did they?    

With that, the trio headed back for the elevator they'd come in on. Looked like they were headed to some arena...


	9. Adjusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx is still having trouble accepting the fact that she's never going back to Haven City. That she'll never see her friends ever again. And she knows that it's only a matter of time before Haven falls. Jak tries his best to cheer her up, and convince her that everything was gonna be okay. Later on, they find themselves taking on giant Metal Heads in a car that must look like a flea to said Metal Heads.

Nyx was used to her days being eventful, especially after ending up a part of Haven's Freedom League. Being busy all day wasn't exactly a new concept to her. But today. Today had been a whole new level of eventful.  
      
After their meeting with the charming King Damas, Jak and Nyx were subjected to an arena challenge, where Damas tested their strength, and overall ability to survive. There had been lava and Marauders involved, and Jak had gone Dark somewhere in the middle of it all. But they all came out of it alive, and they earned the first pieces of their 'Battle Amulets', as Damas called them.  
      
On their way out of the arena, a very large man named Kleiver confronted them, and tasked them with removing some Kanga-Rats that kept raiding his storerooms. Nyx fell off the Leaper Lizard she was riding at least three times, and Daxter laughed at her each time. Needless to say, Jak did most of the work on that one; Apparently he was better with riding animals than Nyx.  
      
Once the Kanga-Rats were disposed of, the trio ended up in the garage, where Kleiver challenged Jak to a race. Jak was cocky enough to bet Daxter's life in the race, something the ottsel (And Nyx) wasn't too happy about. But Jak won, like Jak knew he would, and thus got to keep the car they'd raced with.  
      
They were able to have a peaceful lunch, without things going strange, but it was after this that they stumbled upon the strange purple machine that had washed up on Spargus' shoreline. There was some monk person there named Seem, who was studying the artifact. They had the nerve to tell Jak that the dark eco in him would destroy him eventually, and that immediately put this strange person on Nyx's bad side. She'd had enough of people judging Jak for what Errol put him through...  
      
Seem managed to piss off Jak shortly after, by trying to lecture him about dark powers and the remaking of the world. As Jak got in their face to yell at them, he gestured to the machine (Which Seem said was Precursor tech, though it looked nothing like it), and apparently got a little too close to it. It sparked to life, and opened up, revealing a dark eco crystal inside.  
      
Seem warned Jak to not touch it, but he picked it up without problems. He handed it off to Nyx, just to watch Seem flounder at the idea that dark eco didn't kill her, either. The weird machine then began displaying messages in an old Precursor language, and Jak noted that they looked like coordinates.     
      
Briefly after this, as Daxter began panicking about what the machine was conversing with, the contraption shot off into the sky, fleeing to parts unknown.  
      
Nyx got the feeling they'd be seeing that thing again...  
      
Damas had then sent them off into the unforgiving desert to collect artifacts that the recent sandstorm had unearthed. Another storm was on it's way and they had to move fast to avoid being caught in it. Damas had said that the storms were so bad, they'd rip skin from bone. And no one wanted to be caught up in that. On top of the time crunch, there were Marauder vehicles trying to shoot them down, which didn't make anything easier at all.  
       
It was well into the late evening when they got back from this artifact mission and handed off the relics to whomever would know what to do with them. With night quickly approaching and no one else seemingly needing anything, the trio retreated to the small little housing that Damas had said was theirs.  
      
Nyx glanced around the stone and brick house as they entered it. It was more like one large room, actually. It had an ajoining bathroom that thankfully had a door, but the bedroom and kitchen were basically in the same space. And there wasn't too much of that space, really.  
      
There was a full sized bed off in the corner, and Nyx wasn't exactly sure how clean it was... Regardless, she moved to sit down on it as Jak and Daxter checked over the rest of the house.  
      
As Nyx stared at the brown stone walls and the sandy floor, and all the other architecture that wasn't that of Haven's... That was when it hit her. This was where she was staying now. This was home. She couldn't go back to Haven, couldn't go back to Torn. She was stuck out here in this foreign and hostile-feeling desert city, and she couldn't go back home.  
      
She stared at Jak, bronze skin a shade darker from the sunburn he had, once-long hair chopped short and spikey to suit the Wasteland heat. This was permanent, Nyx realized. She stared down at herself, at the Wasteland clothes she wore. This was who she was now.  
      
A broken sob escaped her throat, and she buried her face into her hands. This wasn't how she wanted it to be. She couldn't believe that she'd never see Torn again... But, if she had let Jak go... Let them take him... God, she would never have forgave herself.  
      
Jak turned sharply at the sound of the sob, and he stared at her as he realized she was crying. He crossed the room in a few short steps, and sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her against his right side. "Hey... Hey, what's wrong?"  
      
Daxter climbed off of Jak's shoulder to scamper into Nyx's lap and tugged on her arms, trying to get her to look at him. "C'mon, lookit us! What's up?"  
      
"Haven..." Nyx choked out, moving her hands just enough so that they could hear her.  
      
Jak sighed, understanding immediately. "You could have stayed..."  
      
"But I couldn't let them take you away, either... I'd never forgive myself if I did... I love you, Jak, I can't imagine life without you anymore," Nyx whined, finally moving one hand to pet Daxter with it. This had become like a routine for them. When something was wrong, she'd pet Daxter and it would always help her calm down. She supposed he had that calming effect that people say house cats have.  
      
Jak sighed again, knowing that whichever way things went, it would have left people hurt and guilty. "I'm sorry to have put you in this position..." was what he settled on saying.  
      
Nyx shook her head. "It's not your fault. It's Veger's... Why do people keep fucking us over?"  
      
"I dunno," Jak mumbled. "Guess we're just easy to pick on,"  
      
"I should've let you tear him to pieces," Nyx muttered, staring at Daxter instead of Jak.  
       
Jak snorted. "No, I'm glad you stopped me. I only wanted to kill him for dragging you into all this,"  
       
"If I have just shut up, that wouldn't have happened. But like I said... I couldn't let him take you away..." Nyx whispered, a new wave of tears coming on as she spoke.  
      
Jak gently rocked her from side to side, humming gently to try and calm her. "Hey, c'mon... It's okay. I don't know how to make it better, but... I'm here. We're here. We've still got each other,"  
      
Nyx nodded. "I dunno what I'd do without you guys. I love you both so much..."  
      
"Awww, we love ya, too!" Daxter purred, nussling into her hand.  
      
"We're a team. We're gonna get through this together," Jak said, resting his head against Nyx's. "Now come on, you're exhausted, let's get to bed,"  
       
Nyx gave a small nod and started pulling at her armor and clothes, shedding each piece one by one. Jak did the same, and once they were down to just pants and shirts, they climbed back into the bed to curl up against each other.  
      
Daxter lay between them, cuddled like a favorite toy or a pet. This was how they always slept when they shared a bed, and it was the most familiar thing Nyx had experienced all day. It was enough to get her to fall asleep without any issues, despite everything else around her.  
  


* * *

  
  
"So uh. We should be concerned about that Day Star thing, right?" Nyx asked as Jak looked over the shiny Light Eco crystal they'd just won from Seem. "It doesn't look very friendly, and I'll bet you anything it has something to do with that... Whatever it was on the beach,"  
      
Jak nodded, handing the crystal off to Nyx. "Yeah, I think you're right. I don't know what's going on here, but it's something big,"  
      
"I'll tell ya what's goin' on here!" Daxter yelled. "The end of the world is goin' on here! Didn't ya hear that monk dude? This planet's final trials are comin'!"  
      
Nyx hummed as she turned the Light Eco crystal over in her hands. Like it's Dark Eco equivalent, it was a form of raw energy, brimming with power. But she'd been unable to draw any Dark Eco from the first crystal for some reason. Jak confirmed that he was unable to as well. Apparently it needed to be harnessed in a different way.  
      
She wasn't even going to try pulling energy from this Light Eco crystal, Jak warned her against it. Apparently Light Eco was a lot like Dark; It usually killed normal people. But these crystals were stable, it seemed. Their energy wasn't loose, it was contained within itself. But they weren't really sure how to use it, either. Breaking it would probably release the energy, but that didn't sound smart...  
      
"Do you think that thing on the beach was Precursor tech?" Nyx finally asked. "Dax was right, I've never seen Precursor tech like that,"  
      
"What else could it have been?" Jak questioned. "Tech that advanced could only be from the Precursors. But it's definitely not like the other stuff we've seen,"  
      
Nyx sighed. "Something big is definitely going on... And I get the feeling we can't ignore it,"  
      
"Yeah," Jak replied. "But c'mon... Kleiver's waiting for us at the garage,"  
      
Daxter snorted and leaped onto Jak's shoulder. "Yeah, let's not keep the Pillsbury Dough Boy waiting..."  
      
Nyx snickered at Daxter's nickname for Kleiver. Man, did Daxter have the best ways of referring to people... The trio set off through Spargus, heading for the huge gates that housed the garage.  
      
When they got there, Kleiver didn't look too pleased with them. "Where've you poppies been, eh?"  
      
"Just hanging around, enjoying the sights, catching some rays, the usual," Jak replied, actually pulling out the sarcasm for once. It looked like Seem and Kleiever had that effect on him...  
      
Kleiver glared at them, but chose to just get on with what he wanted from them. "The scope shows a group of Metal Heads movin' through the desert not too far from here. I don't like Metal Heads, almost as much as I don't like you," the large mechanic got up in Jak's face as he spoke, but Jak barely flinched. Daxter on the other hand, almost fell off Jak's shoulder.  
      
"And you've got some proving to do," Kleiver continued. "Intercept those bad boys and give 'em hell. Who knows, you may even get a few toys for your effort,"  
      
"Why does it sound like you're leavin' out the dangerous parts?" Daxter asked, leaning forward on Jak's pauldron. "Jaaak, I'm gettin' some nasty ju-ju vibes here... I don't have these whiskers for nothin' y'know!"  
      
Jak rolled his eyes. "Relax. We can handle a few Metal Heads,"  
      
"Yeah, Dax. Jak's the King of fighting Metal Heads, remember?" Nyx purred, patting their small furry friend on the back.  
      
"Have you ever seen a Wasteland Metal Head?" Kleiver asked, voice low and intimidating.  
      
"No... Why?" Daxter asked slowly, really getting a bad feeling about this now...  
      
"Nothin'. Just wonderin'. Go get 'em, heroes," Kleiver chuckled as the trio headed for their car.  
       
They piled into the car, with Jak at the wheel. Daxter glared back at Kleiver as the huge man headed back inside Spargus to do... Whatever it was he did when he wasn't antagonizing them.  
      
The front gates of Spargus opened loudly, and Jak hit the gas, sending them off into the desert. "I hate sand!" Nyx hissed, pulling her goggles up over her eyes.  
      
Jak chuckled. "I'm used to it,"  
      
"Yeah, you grew up with sand. But I've never seen sand until now!" Nyx complained. "And maybe a beach sounds pretty nice, but all this sand flying in my face is not,"  
      
Jak laughed. "You'll get used to it,"  
      
"That's what I'm afraid of," Nyx muttered.  
      
The little navigator they had pointed them to some random location in the desert, and Jak steered their vehicle towards it, hoping they wouldn't run into any Marauders on their way. Those guys had been a pain in the ass while they were hunting for artifacts in the more remote areas of the Wastelands.  
      
When they got to the designated location, it was a little hard to miss the huge creatures that were stomping about... "Holy shit..." Nyx mumbled.  
       
"Ya can say that again..." Daxter said, stretching up to get a good look at the huge Metal Heads that they now had to kill.  
      
Jak gave a Devil-May-Care grin, and hit the gas. "Let's do it,"  
      
Daxter screamed as Jak slammed on the gas, and Nyx shrieked sharply. The sound of the car's turret drowned them out, though, as Jak mercilessly opened fire on the dinosaur-like Metal Head.  
      
As the creature was shot at, it roared loudly, and turned towards it's attackers. Jak swerved the vehicle to avoid the monster as it charged them, and then spun around 180 degrees to keep firing at it.  
      
Nyx was plastered to the back of her seat by now, and was digging her nails into said seat, clinging for dear life. Jak's driving in Haven had been bad, but by the Precursors, this was worse!  
      
Daxter leaped off of Jak's shoulder to sit in Nyx's lap. "Hey! Ya okay?"  
      
Nyx forced herself to nod. "I forgot that he's a maniac driver! I thought the race was as bad as it got!"  
      
They heard Jak give a short laugh next to them, but he didn't say anything, instead he focused on shooting the Metal Head that was intent on killing them.  
      
"Yeah! He's an adrenaline junkie, I think..." Daxter replied, clinging to Nyx's skirt as Jak made a rather sharp turn. "...Or maybe he's just got a death wish..."  
      
Nyx didn't reply, and instead forced herself to turn around and look as the Metal Head came charging after them. She bit her lip and watched tensely as Jak swerved in a large half-circle to avoid being trampled, and turned again to open fire once more.  
      
That was all it took to finally down that Metal Head. Jak swerved around the corpse, and headed towards the next blip on the radar. There were only three of them left now, and he was pretty confident that he could take them. His driving might be alarming his friends, but he knew they trusted him.  
      
They approached the next Metal Head on it's flanks, and Jak opened fire instantly. The beast turned to charge at them, and Jak quickly swerved out of it's way, and then quickly spun the vehicle back around to line up his crosshairs and open fire again.  
      
Daxter had settled into the idea of this job by now, and was becoming convinced that Jak wouldn't kill them. So, the ottsel decided to take up a post on Nyx's shoulder, relishing the fact that for once, she was wearing armor up there. "Geez, these guys are real ugly!"  
       
Jak chuckled. "Yeah, we'll be doing them a favor,"  
      
"I agree. Metal Heads are most attractive when they're splattered on the ground," Nyx said, looking behind them as Jak turned around to put some distence between them and the Metal Heads giant claws.  
       
Once he was far enough away, Jak sharply turned the car again, and headed back towards the fleeing beast, letting bullets fly as he did so. Only a few more of them needed to catch the Metal Head, and it went down.  
       
"Woohoo!!" Daxter cheered. "Oh yeah! These babies don't stand a chance!"  
      
Nyx laughed at Daxter's enthusiasm, and had to admit that this was kinda fun, once she got used to the way Jak was driving. There was a point in her life where she never would have taken any job definitively involving Metal Heads, danger, or Jak's driving, but those days were thankfully long behind her. "Next time we do this, it's my turn to drive,"  
      
Jak chuckled and had to stifle an actual laugh as he sped towards the distant figure of another Metal Head. "Never thought I'd hear that,"  
      
"Oh no, you're rubbin' off on her, Jak! Her sense of self-preservation is degrading!" Daxter exclaimed, pretending to actually be alarmed. "Or maybe she's devloping an addiction to adrenaline and danger...? Hmmm... Which one?"  
       
Jak snorted and made a sharp turn. "It's good to see her not being afraid, if you ask me,"  
      
Nyx rolled her eyes. "I was a wimp when we met, I know. I think the dark eco has something to do with it. Keeps me from freaking out so easy,"  
      
"Is that why you punched Errol?" Jak asked, taking his eyes off the road for just a moment to grin at his girlfriend.  
       
Nyx grinned back. "Yeah,"


	10. The Balence Of Dark And Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx and Jak investigate the expedition of Monks that Seem had lost out at the Volcano, and somehow that leads to Jak gaining a strange Dark Eco invisibility power, and later on being gifted Light Eco powers by some Precursor statue. As if things weren't weird enough as they were...

"We tried telling you that you'd get tired of it being in your face all the time," Jak laughed as he pulled on his boots. Nyx was in the tiny bathroom with a pair of scissors, hacking away at her hair. She'd decided that even as short as it was before, it was a giant pain in the ass.  
      
"It was just this one section that was long!" Nyx protested. "I didn't think it would be that bad!"  
      
Daxter chuckled. "We're in the desert, sweetheart. It's hot an' humid, there's sand an' wind, an' it overall sucks,"      
  
Nyx sighed, brushing a small piece of hair into place. "I've seen Wastelanders with longer hair... But then again they're usually in dreads..."  
      
"I considered doing that," Jak said, strapping on his eco ring and adjusting the straps. "But Daxter said it wouldn't look good,"  
      
Nyx laughed quietly. "I think you could rock that,"  
      
"See Dax? She thinks I could rock it," Jak said, the smile clear in his voice.  
      
Daxter made a 'pfft' sound and crossed his arms. "If you say so. You just don't strike me as a dreads guy,"  
      
Nyx snorted and set her scissors down. She brushed her hands back through her hair to remove any loose bits, and then stepped out of the bathroom. "Okay. What do you think?"  
      
Jak looked up to see what Nyx had done with her hair. The long piece that had been in the middle and combed to the side was no longer there. It had been cut off boyishly short, and was now brushed back away from her face, spiked up in a purposely messy fashion.  
      
Jak smiled. "Looks good, I like it,"  
      
"Yeah! Ya look all badass now! Like ya mean business!" Daxter exclaimed, bounding across the room to leap onto her shoulder. He reached out to fluff her hair up with one hand. "It's all fluffy, too!"  
      
"Hey, hey, don't mess with it," Nyx complained, shooing Daxter's hands away. "Jak's hair is fluffier, go fluff him,"  
      
Jak rolled his eyes and gave Daxter a look. The ottsel shook his head. "Yeeeeeaahhh... No,"  
      
"You're scared to fluff his hair, huh? Okay fine, guess I'm the brave one," Nyx said, and then strode purposefully across the room towards Jak.  
      
Jak didn't exactly have anywhere to go, as he was trapped by the bed. "Nyx, c'mon,"  
      
Nyx gave a grin, and then darted her hands up to fluff up Jak's gravity-defying hair. He gave an undignified yelp as she did, and tried to duck out from under her. She didn't let him at first, but eventually allowed him to slip away to regain his composure.  
      
"You're an ass," Jak hissed, but he was laughing anyways. Then a shit-eating grin split his features...  
      
"Uh oh," Daxter mumbled, leaping off Nyx's shoulders. "You're in for it, now,"  
      
Nyx had to smile as Jak leaped at her, sweeping her off her feet and tackling her to the bed. She feigned resistance as his hands pulled through her hair, causing the now-short curly strands to stick up straight.       
  
Nyx laughed as Jak's hands tugged through her hair, and she playfully pushed at Jak's shoulders. Jak was miles stronger though, and didn't budge. Eventually, Nyx gave up, staring up at Jak as he also gave up messing with her hair.  
      
It was an innocent enough concept to begin with, but having her pinned down to the bed was a little too much for Jak to resist. As they stared at each other, Jak found himself leaning down to crush his lips against Nyx's in a desperate kiss.  
      
Nyx gave a small sound as Jak pressed against her, but she didn't fight. She'd be lying if she said she didn't see it coming. She knew Jak all too well by now. She brought her own hands up into his hair and pulled, making Jak respond by biting her lip.  
      
As soon as he realized what was going on, Daxter quietly slipped out the front door, leaving his best friends to their own devices. It wouldn't be the first time they'd done this, and they never noticed him leaving.  
      
"I love you," Nyx panted as Jak finally pulled away, staring deep into his blue eyes. He said that her's were like ice, and if that were true, then his were like the late evening sky; Dark and deep and so goddamn beautiful.  
      
Jak grinned. "I love you too,"  
      
And then he was using her hair to pull her head back so he could bite at her neck. She whined as he did, and fisted her own hands harder through his hair. She still prefered it long, but at least there was still enough to grab.  
      
Jak sucked at her skin, carding his hands through her hair. Short suited her rather well, it defined her face and made her look older. And he had to admit that maybe he liked it a bit more than her other style.  
      
"Jak..." Nyx breathed out, tugging at his hair to get his attention. "Jak, c'mon,"  
      
She was asking him to stop, Jak realized. So he did, pulling away to look at her. "Something wrong?"  
      
"No. I'd give anything to keep going right now, but we've got work to do. Those Leapers aren't going to corral themselves," Nyx said, really wishing that they could just stay there for a little while longer. But living in Spargus was all about work, and as the resident newbies, they had to give it their all.  
      
Jak sighed in both dissapointment and displeasure. "Yeah... Guess you're right," and then he pulled himself up and smoothed out his clothes. Nyx pulled herself up too and gently nudged her shoulder against his arm.  
      
"Maybe tonight, if we can find something else for Dax to do," Nyx said quietly, retrieving their guns from the kitchen table.  
      
Jak chuckled and looked around the room. "He seems to have found something else to do just fine,"  
      
Nyx hummed and tossed Jak his morph gun. "True,"  
      
As the duo made their way out of the door, Daxter looked up at them in surprise. "Well that was fast," he mused as he leaped onto Jak's shoulder. "I didn't think it was physically possible to-"  
      
"We didn't," Nyx replied, chuckling quietly at the ottsel. "We've got work to do,"  
      
"Oooohhh, cockblocked by way of work. Ouchie. Never stopped ya before,"  
      
Nyx snorted. "That was when my best friend and his girlfriend ran the city we lived in, and didn't mind if we took a little break. These people still don't entirely trust us,"  
      
"Yeah, guess that does make a little difference," Daxter mumbled. "Man, do I miss Haven. All this sand is making me itch,"  
      
Nyx sighed. "Yeah... I miss Haven too. But this is where we are now. Gotta make the best of it,"  
      
"And corralling wild Leapers is 'making the best of it'?" Daxter asked, leaning around Jak to look at Nyx.  
      
Nyx shrugged. "If it gets us on Damas' good side, then I guess so,"  
      
"What about Kleiver's good side...?" Daxter then questioned.  
       
Nyx hummed quietly, and in that moment of silence, Jak responsed. "I don't think he has one," 

* * *

How did wrangling wild Leaper Lizards turn into paragliding over to a volcano? Nyx had no idea. Seem had mentioned that a group of their monks had gone out there and never returned, and that was enough to get Jak's curiousity (And maybe his heroic instinct) flowing.  
      
They'd semi-crash landed inside the volcano, destroying the two paragliders they'd found on top of the temple. Nyx thought it was a miracle that she'd managed to climb up there to begin with, and now they didn't have a proper way back with the paragliders destroyed. Jak made all that climbing look entirely too easy...  
      
Reluctantly, Nyx and Daxter followed Jak through the volcano, and up to the top of some cliff thing. "God, I hate climbing..." Nyx hissed as they pulled themselves over the edge.  
      
And then she stopped, staring up at the huge thing that was on the cliff. Was that...? Was that another one of those Dark Eco powered 'satellites', as Seem had called them? Yeah, it totally was, wasn't it? That didn't bode well...  
      
To top it off, there was a dead and petrified monk crouched before the satellite, their features twisted into an awful look of pain. In their hands they clutched some large Dark Eco crystal.  
      
"Looks like it didn't agree with him," Daxter said, making a move to touch the thing.  
      
"Don't touch it, Daxter!" Jak snapped. "Who knows what more Dark Eco would do to you!"  
      
Nyx had never heard Jak yell at Daxter before, but she understood why. Dark Eco had fucked them all over, but Daxter was the only one who couldn't actively channel it. There was no saying what might happen to him if exposed to more...  
      
"Lookit me, Jak!" Daxter protested. "I'm short, I'm hairy, and I itch in strange places! I couldn't do much worse..."  
      
"You could be dead..." Nyx muttered, not meeting anyone's eyes.  
      
Daxter waved off their concern and moved towards the Dark Eco thing. "Relax, I know what I'm doing," but then he stopped and stuck his tongue out. "Oh, yuck! Cold, clammy, dead hands... Oh, I can't look..."  
      
Despite his complaining, Daxter then started pulling on the Dark Eco contraption. It didn't seem to wanna budge at first, but then the dead holds holding it gave way. Daxter fell backwards, and the contraption was flung up into the air. As it came down, it's path would have landed it directly on top of Daxter.  
      
"Look out, Daxter!" Jak yelled, leaping through the air to catch the Dark Eco thing before it landed on the ottsel. Jak tumbled to the ground, and in that moment Daxter found himself airborne as Nyx scooped him up off the ground.  
      
That was when things got weird. As Jak stood up, the thing in his hands started to glow, and then Jak completely dissapeared from view. Nyx and Daxter watched, perplexed by this phenomenon. Jak's location was still obvious, they could see the Eco device still, but Jak himself was nearly unperceivable.  
      
"Jak...?" Daxter asked, leaning forward from his place in Nyx's arms.  
      
The Dark Eco thing dropped from Jak's hands, and it shattered on the ground, sending little sparks of Dark Eco everywhere. Jak faded back into view, gasping slightly and staring at his hands. "It's a Dark power..." he hissed.  
      
"I am so glad you caught that..." Nyx breathed. She didn't want to think about what it could have done to Daxter... It had killed that monk, and despite his previous experience with it, Nyx was pretty sure Daxter couldn't channel any eco, let alone Dark. "Are you okay?"  
      
Jak nodded, quickly regaining composure. "I'm fine,"  
      
Nyx looked Jak over as Daxter scampered out of her arms. Jak didn't seem injured, but his hands were definitely shaking a little bit. He hadn't been prepared for whatever that Dark Eco thing had done to him.  
      
"Y'know, if you had moved that fast a long time ago, I'd still be wearing pants..." Daxter complained, walking away from his friends. Then he stopped to turn around. "Y'know what I really miss? Soft underpants. Y'know how it lifts and cradles?"  
      
Daxter then heaved a sad sigh. "You wouldn't understand. C'mon, we're outta here,"      
  
Jak and Nyx exchanged a look, with Jak looking just a bit guilty. Then they started to follow the ottsel back down the cliff.  
      
"So uh. How are we getting back? The paragliders got smashed..." Nyx asked slowly.  
      
Jak sighed. "That's uh. That's a good question,"  
  


* * *

Alright. Today just kept getting weirder, Nyx decided. First they'd paraglided to a volcano, then Jak ended up with some weird insisibility power. Now they were back in the temple, and had found - Of all people - Count Veger!  
      
Jak had been quick to grab Nyx and shove her over to hide behind the wall, so they could listen to what Veger was saying. They had the feeling that he was definitely up to no good...  
      
"I want no excuses!" Veger barked. And was he... He was yelling at Seem! "You told me this could be done! Now make it so!"  
      
"But we have so little time," Seem argued. "The Day Star approaches, you know what it brings!"  
      
"Unfortunate, yes," Veger hummed. "We will deal with that as soon as I have full access to the catacombs. Just do your work, and I'll deal with those idiots in Haven. I promise, you will meet your makers,"  
      
"Why are the catacombs so important?" Jak whispered, leaning around the corner to watch Veger and Seem leave.  
     
Nyx sighed. "I think the better question, is why is Seem helping Veger with whatever he's up to? Can't be good,"  
      
Jak nodded. "Yeah..."  
      
With their guests gone, Jak moved from the wall to investigate the big Precursor statue that was in the middle of the giant gorge before them. Daxter leaped off his shoulder to pace forwards and gesture to the thing. "Hey, look! It's one of the goober-eyed Precursor things!"  
      
And then the eyes of the statue snapped open, glowing a bright blue. "Greetings, great one. Your return brings us great hope. This world's future is at a critical juncture. The Dark Ones have found your world again, and fate hangs in the balence of the past and the future combined,"  
      
"Do you have any idea what he just said?" Daxter asked, turning to confusedly look at Jak. Then he turned back to the statue. "Speak-a da normal language, okay?"  
      
"You will need all the strength you can muster to survive this terrible test, great one," the statue bellowed.  
      
"I can handle it!" Daxter retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.  
      
"I was talking to the tall one, shorty," the statue replied.  
      
Daxter gave an insulted "Hey!" in response, but the statue talked over him.  
      
"Look into the light, and receive a power, hero," the statue instructed Jak.  
      
And then their day continued to get weirder. A beam of pure white light appeared from nowhere, engulfing Jak and causing him to begin floating.  
      
Daxter took another few steps back as Nyx stared, unsure if what she was seeing was real. "Okay! N-Now you're scarin' me!" Daxter stammered.  
      
The show only lasted for a few moments, before the light dissipated, and Jak floated back to the ground. His eyes fluttered open, and he stared down at his hands. He looked from Daxter to Nyx, grinning. "The Dark Eco..." he breathed. "It feels far away... I feel better!"  
      
"Woah, does this mean you're not going to be losing control of yourself every time someone pisses you off?" Daxter asked, raising an eyebrow.  
      
"I dunno," Jak replied. "But I don't feel so... Heavy anymore..."  
      
There was a breathless laugh from behind him, and then Nyx was hugging him. Jak accepted the embrace wholeheartedly, feeling much lighter than he had in years.


	11. Pick Up The Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx gets injured by Marauders on a routine mission, and Jak ends up being the one to patch her up, revealing that the new Light Eco in his body made it easier to channel other types again. Nyx then muses about Eco, and Haven City.

Sometimes, Nyx swore that the Wastelands were more dangerous than Haven City ever was. And she was one-hundred percent certain that the people were twice as crazy. 

Especially the Marauders, who took joy in fucking up literally everything. Especially other people.

"Why's it always gotta be Marauders?" Daxter asked as he hopped out of the car and into Spargus' garage. "Why can't it be a nice predictable Metal Head? God, I miss Metal Heads,"

"Send your complaints to the Precursors, Dax," Nyx groaned as she dragged herself from the vehicle, one hand plastered over the slash in her left side that was creating a sticky red mess. Their mission to investigate Marauder activity in the remote desert hadn't exactly gone as planned... Then again, when did anything ever go as planned?

"Yeah, as if they're watchin' this mess..." Daxter mumbled, leaping onto Jak's shoulder as the blond moved to steady Nyx. 

Jak said nothing as he looped Nyx's arm over his shoulder to balence her. There was stray dark eco sparking off of him, and it was better if he just kept quiet and focused on getting Nyx back home. He was absolutely not going to think about tearing apart the asshole who'd done this... No, he certainly wasn't going to do that...

Knowing exactly what was going through Jak's mind, Nyx decided that it was a good idea to keep talking. It was a tactic she'd learned from Daxter. When Jak's pissed; Keep talking, give him something else to focus on. So she snorted out a breathy laugh, even though it hurt. "They sure seemed to like Jak. Why wouldn't they be keeping an eye on things?"

Daxter shrugged. "I dunno. Gods seem really flaky at best. We've been dealin' with those Precursor oracle things for way too long. That was the first time one of them didn't ask for somethin' in return for cool stuff,"

"Asking for things? What might a Precursor statue want?" Nyx asked, forcing herself to work through the haze of the pain and her own dark eco rush to keep talking. If she had enough brain power to focus on anything else, she would have been trying to heal the gash in her side, but she had to have priorities here. And maybe it said something about her, the fact that she'd rather focus on talking to keep Jak calm, rather than stop her own bleeding. But that wasn't something she had enough brain power to think about, either. 

"Precursor orbs, back in Sandover," Daxter replied. "And then the one at the docks wanted Skull Gems," 

"Huh. So... What did the ones in Sandover give you? If dark eco wasn't a thing to worry about back then?" Nyx asked, feeling relieved as their home came into sight. Perhaps heading to the infirmary was a better idea, but she wasn't going anywhere near a doctor if she didn't have to, thank you very much. Surely she could handle this on her own, right?

"Power cells. Those babies made the world go 'round back home," answered Daxter. "Haven't seen one in a while,"

Nyx hummed. "I've seen a few in my time, they're not too terribly common,"

"Yeah, I've noticed. But man, are they powerful!" exclaimed Daxter as Jak shoved open their front door. 

The talk stopped there as Jak sat Nyx down on the bed. "Can you fix it?"

Nyx nodded. "Yeah, I think so..."

Jak nodded and started pulling out other medical supplies, just in case. Listening to her and Daxter talk about Precursors and power cells had helped clear his head of violent thoughts - Not completely - But enough. It was good that Nyx was still talking. It meant that her injury wasn't too bad. It wasn't like when she'd been shot, where she'd nearly blacked out and writhed on the floor until she'd managed to somewhat heal it. 

Nyx peeled off her blody gloves, armor and pack, before carefully wriggling out of her torn and soaked shirt. She discarded everything to the floor, and then set to work trying to heal the gash. She didn't have as much green eco stored in her body as she would have liked, but hopefully it would be enough. 

Jak and Daxter watched closely, as the torn flesh began to pull itself back together. But it wasn't long afterwards that Nyx hissed, and the healing process stopped. "Fuck. Outta eco..."

She tried again, trying to pull at the core of her being for more eco this time, something she'd not done in four years. But she couldn't. She wasn't as in-tune with her green eco channeling as she had been four years ago. Damned Dark Eco...

"Here, let me see..." Jak mumbled, kneeling down in front of her and silently asking for permission to touch, his hand hovering near her. 

Nyx nodded and retreated her own hands, letting Jak reach out to brush his fingers over the sensitive wound. She watched in something like awe, as his hands began to glow with that familiar green aura, and the pain resumed diminishing. 

A few moments later, and there was nothing left but a phantom throbbing that would surely go away soon. Nyx stared as Jak pulled his hand back, and then she laughed. "I thought you said that was hard to concentrate on,"

"It is," Jak replied. "But it's easier than before. The Light Eco balences me out a lot better,"

"Huh. Well, it's good to know I'm not the only healer around now," Nyx laughed, standing up to peel off the rest of her dirty and bloody clothes. 

"It's still not that easy," Jak replied. "But it's getting easier, at least,"

Nyx hummed. "Well, they say practice makes perfect,"

"Yeah," Jak replied. "It's nice to have it back, honestly. I missed the way it feels,"

"Been a while since you've used raw Eco, huh, pal?" Daxter asked, picking stray bits of dried blood from his fur. Gross... "It used to be all over the place back home!"

Jak nodded. "Yeah, Eco used to be everywhere. In everything, too..."

"Can't imagine what that's like... Haven sounds so... Soulless compared to that..." Nyx mused sadly. She knew that they both still missed Sandover. They'd be raised there, even if Jak had originally come from Haven to begin with. 

Jak contemplated his words for a moment. "It definitely feels more empty compared to Sandover... But I don't know if I'd say soulless... Not because of the lack of Eco, anyways..."

"Yeah, I think I'd blame Praxis for the soulless part. Guy took away basically all the freedom the people had," Daxter agreed. 

Nyx sighed and collected her dirty and torn clothes, shoving them into the small basket of laundry. "He definitely did... But funny enough, it was familiar that way. I'd never seen Haven any other way my whole life. Seeing it bloom for the first time in my lifetime was... Amazing..."

Jak eyed her as he began peeling off his own dirty clothes. She had that look on her face again... The same one she always got when she thought about Haven...

"And then it all just. Came crashing back down..." Nyx mumbled, her eyes falling to the floor. She wondered what had become of Haven in the four months that they'd been gone... Was it even still there?

Jak sighed softly, having seen that sentence coming a mile away. He crossed the room half-dressed to gently cup her cheeks with bloody hands. He waited for her to look at him before speaking. "And you'll get to see that again someday, I promise,"

"Yeah!" Daxter exclaimed, leaping onto Jak's bare shoulder. "That Veger guy isn't gonna get away with this shit! We're gonna take him out and we're all gonna go back to Haven and pick up the pieces!"

Nyx had to smile at their words, and placed her hands over Jak's, not even caring about the blood. Or who it belonged to. She then nodded. "Okay. You're right. We're gonna win this again. We have to,"

"That's the spirit!" Daxter cheered, leaping from Jak's bare shoulder to her's. "We're the top dogs, and we're gonna claim back our places!"

Nyx laughed, and then leaned her forehead against Jak's, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We're gonna get through this one, too..."

"Of course we are," Jak replied. "Nothing can stop us,"

Nyx breathed another laugh, and then grin devilishly. "Damn right. We're gonna give them hell for this, aren't we?"

Jak gave a grin of his own in response. "My thoughts exactly,"


	12. Nothing Can Stop Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jak and Nyx are tasked with rescuing some lost Wastelanders, before a huge sandstorm comes through and kills them. This simple mission somehow turns into fighting another of the strange satellites that were found on the beach.

Nyx was profoundly distracted that morning, Jak noticed. She couldn't seem to focus on anything, repeatedly zoning out and forgetting what she was meant to do. Something was clearly on her mind. In her distracted haze, she'd somehow managed to trip over her own skirt.

After picking her up off the floor and putting her skirt aside, Jak had to ask what was going on. Even Daxter had noticed that something was up and was giving her a concerned look as he brushed out his fur. 

Nyx had been a little out of sorts by default since arriving in Spargus, but Jak wasn't too surprised by that. Being ripped from her home and shoved out into some desert city likely wasn't easy for her. It was easier for Jak and Daxter, as Haven had never quite felt like home to them. Even if they cared, they weren't as attatched to it as she was. 

But this was a whole new level of distracted and out of sorts, and Jak needed to ask about it. She was avoiding his eyes, knowing what was coming. Nyx had learned to read Jak like an open book in the past year, and she knew what he was thinking. 

"What's wrong?" she wasn't sure if he actually said it, but the question came across loud and clear. 

Nyx sighed. "It doesn't matter..."

"Yeah it does," Jak replied, giving her that stern look that was also somehow soft. She'd come to recognize it. It meant he wasn't going to put up with her trying to spare him the gorey details of her emotional turmoil. 

Another sigh passed her lips as she tugged at her shirt. "I just. Can't stop thinking about Haven... What's gonna happen to it without you there..."

Jak wasn't too sure what to say to that. Before he'd arrived, Haven had been in turmoil, and the Underground had been losing badly. He'd single-handedly overthrown the Baron (Well, sort of...) and helped win the war for Haven City. And since then he'd helped keep the city in one piece. He was a one man army, and Torn depended on him for so many things.

So what would happen to Haven without him there to protect it?

Nyx waited for a response from Jak, but when none came, and he began to ask himself the same question, she continued. "You're the best guy the Freedom League had... You could take on anything and come out alive... And without you... Are the Metal Heads gonna tear up the whole city?"

"I don't know..." Jak replied. And he really, truly, didn't know. He wished he could give her a better answer. A more 'hero' answer, but damnit, he didn't know how to. 

Nyx chewed at her lip. "I keep thinking about Torn... About if he's alive or not right now... And... And Ashelin, and Tess, and Silas, and Keira... Hell, I'm even worried about Jinx!"

Jak hadn't exactly thought about that. About the fact that their friends might be dead right now. Keira... And Daxter had become so attatched to Tess... "I wish I knew something better to say. I hadn't really looked at it from that angle,"

Nyx sighed again, but this time it was a guilty action. Great, she'd just put depressing thoughts in Jak's head that he didn't need to deal with. She watched as Daxter crawled up onto Jak's bare shoulder and gave them both concerned looks. But behind that, his eyes said that he was concerned about the same thing.

"I wish I had the chance to say goodbye, at least... I can't imagine how this must be for Torn..." Nyx mumbled. She wanted to shut up. Wanted to stop dumping all of these awful thoughts onto Jak. But now that she'd started, she felt like she might go insane if she stopped.

"I know," Jak said, reaching up to brush his calloused fingers over Nyx's cheek. "And I'm so sorry I put you in the position where you had to choose,"

Nyx shook her head, holding Jak's hand to her face. "It's not your fault. I said that before. It's Veger's... He did this to us,"

"And he's gonna pay for it, right?" Daxter said, finally speaking up for the first time.

Jak nodded. "Yeah. He's not gonna get away with whatever scheme he's got going,"

He sounded so honest that Nyx had to smile. Jak had this way of talking when he was being honest, and she could always tell when he was lying. He was like an open book once you knew what to look for. 

"And once that asshole's gone, there'll be nothin' stoppin' us from goin' back to Haven!" exclaimed Daxter, leaning against Jak's head.

"If there's anything or anyone to go back to..." Nyx mumbled, the moment of repreive from her awful thoughts fading away.

Daxter sighed. "Yeah I was uh. I was trying to guide the conversation away from that... Looks like I... Didn't do that too well..."

"Torn and Ashelin are tough. And they protect their own, so they won't let anything happen to Keira or Tess. And Silas can handle himself, too. They'll be fine, I promise," Jak said. "And I promise you'll see them again. Sooner rather than later if I can,"

There it was again, that honest voice that always made Nyx believe whatever Jak told her. And if he told her they'd be fine and she'd see them again... It meant that he'd move Heaven, Hell, and Earth to make that happen. Tears pricked at her eyes and she squeezed Jak's hand. 

"It's all gonna be okay..." Jak mumbled, pulling himself up to press a kiss to Nyx's forehead. "Just hang in there for me, okay?"

Nyx nodded and let Jak's hand go so she could wipe the tears from her eyes. "As long as you're here... I think I can manage that,"

"Awwww, lookit you two! Bein' all mushy! Warms my heart, it does," Daxter cooed, being a little more dramatic than he needed to be. His partners rolled their eyes at him.

As Nyx rubbed away the last of her tears, Jak handed over her skirt so she could finish getting dressed. "We've got some work to do, don't we?"

Nyx nodded and had to smile a little, feeling marginally better than before. She accepted her clothes, and began pulling them on. "Another day in the horrible desert, huh? Alright, why not?"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nyx cursed to herself and dove out of the way of a deep purple tentacle, rolling as she hit the ground. "I knew we hadn't seen the last of these satellite fuckers!" she shouted as she opened fire on the giant floating thing that was assaulting them. 

"Less talking, more shooting!" Jak yelled back, circling the contraption from it's other side. 

Nyx snorted and dove out of the way of another tentacle. Man, that thing had good reach... She pulled herself back off the floor, and opened fire again. How many bullets did this thing need to fucking take?!

Their mission had been to rescue four Wastelanders who were stranded out in the desert, before the latest giant sandstorm came rolling through. It sounded simple enough, but needless to say, it hadn't really gone as planned.

They'd arrived at the fourth guy's location, only to find him in a million bloody pieces all over the place. For a moment, they'd thought a Metal Head had done it, until the damn satellite ambushed them. 

And good god, did this thing not want to go down easy! They'd already gone through four Blaster clips between the two of them, and ammo was starting to get a bit short. Neither of them had any idea what they'd do if they completely ran out of ammo. Jak could always go Dark, but he wasn't sure if he could get close enough to do any damage to it with his claws...

Nyx groaned as her gun made an empty clicking noise, and she was forced to swap it back to the Scatter Gun. As she was switching modes, however, a tentacle came flying at her from the left, and before she could even think of moving, it had landed a direct hit to her side. 

She shrieked as she was flung approximately twenty feet away, feeling pain blossom through her ribcage. She hit the desert floor hard, and skid to a stop in the sand. Her consciousness was fading out now, but she could hear Jak screaming her name. A surge of Dark Eco brought her back around, and she dragged herself up off the floor a bit, even before she could see what was around her. 

Something in the left side of her ribs definitely wasn't right... Every move hurt like hell. It reminded her of the feeling of being shot. And it was nearly blocking out everything else, just like it had that time. But this time she had Dark Eco to keep herself from completely succumbing to the pain. It took her a minute though, to fully grasp her consciousness again. But she eventually did it, and then started trying to pull from beyond the Dark Eco to dredge up Green Eco.

As soon as they'd seen her get hit, Daxter leaped off Jak's shoulder to rush towards where Nyx had landed. But ottsel paws couldn't really go too terribly fast... He was relieved to see her drag herself up slightly, though that didn't say anything about how bad her injuries were. He'd learned a long time ago that Dark Eco blocked out pain and helped keep you up on your feet for as long as possible. She may not even have realized how bad she was injured...

Nyx hissed through the pain of breathing as she willed the Dark Eco back, and pulled forth more Green Eco. Behind the roar of blood in her ears, she could hear Jak still fighting with the satellite... She needed to get back up and help him! As the Green Eco mended whatever was wrong with her ribs, she became aware of something small and orange rushing up to her. "Daxter..."

"Nyx! Holy shit, honey, ya okay?" Daxter yelled, panting and out of breath. "That looked pretty nasty!"

Nyx gave a breathless laugh that still hurt a bit. "Think I broke a rib or something... I'm fixing it up, though..."

"Think? Ya think?! How can ya not know for sure?!" Daxter demanded, flailing his arms about.

"Well, I don't really know what a broken anything feels like... So I'm just guessing here. Might be simply fractured or bruised. All I know... Is that it hurts like hell," Nyx replied, speaking slowly as she breathed hard. 

Daxter sighed heavily. "Do ya think the Dark Eco is keepin' ya from feelin' how bad it really is?"

Nyx shook her head. "No... No, I'm not letting it... Not this time..." her breathing was finally beginning to even out as she spoke. That meant the Green Eco was working, right?

"Huh. You're really gettin' to have some control over that stuff, ain't ya?" Daxter mused.

"Sometimes, yeah..." Nyx replied. Then she gingerly reached up to press her hand to her left side, feeling around. She almost expected there to still be pain, but there wasn't. Her body had stopped using up Green Eco by now, so of course there wouldn't be anymore pain; There was nothing left to heal.

Nyx slowly started to pull herself up, testing her physical state. Upon confirming that she was fine, she rushed in standing up all the way. Jak was still fighting with that damn satellite...

The next thing Daxter knew, he was being hauled into the air and then plopped down on Nyx's right shoulder. And then she was running as fast as she possibly could back towards Jak and the damned satellite. If only she had Blue Eco...

Jak saw Nyx sprinting back towards him from the corner of his eye, and he questioned if she was okay enough to come back and fight. He also knew that Dark Eco messed with pain receptors, it was something he was guilty of allowing to happen many times. 

But Jak had no time at all to be questioning her, because the Precursors-be-damned satellite was still trying to kill him. What the hell kind of satellite kills things, anyways?!

Nyx made a beeline for the place where her gun had dropped, and scooped it up off the ground. She was left with only Scatter Gun ammo, but Jak had been modifying the hell out of that mode from the day they got their hands on these guns. So it packed a pretty big punch by now. 

Dodging a tentacle, Nyx fired up at the wretched machine, then ducked under another tentacle before firing twice more. She then leaped over various tentacles, unleashing as many shots as she could in-between. She was constantly switching between defense and offense, and it was honestly getting hard to tell when was the time for each. 

Jak had much more battle experience than Nyx did, and he knew right when to hit and when to fall back, but honestly, it didn't feel like it mattered. That satellite was tough as nails. 

The cycle continued for what felt like ages, and it eventually came to a point where Nyx was starting to have to rely on Dark Eco to keep herself up and fighting. Of course, the side effect of this was that she was more reckless; Had less inhibitions about doing things, was less scared. It lead to her to taking more risky shots, and Daxter was starting to get concerned from his perch on her shoulder. 

But before the ottsel could decide to say something, the satellite began to spasm in the air, before crashing down to the ground. Various things inside of it exploded, and then the machine was still. 

Both Jak and Nyx stayed where they were, breathing hard and staring at the satellite, expecting it to jump back to life. But when it became apparent that it wasn't going to, Jak wasted no time in rushing over to Nyx's side. "Are you okay?!"

Nyx raised a hand and nodded to tell him that she was fine. "Yeah, I'm fine. Think it broke a rib or something, but I fixed it up,"

A look of anger flashed across Jak's face as she told him something had been broken, but Daxter was the only one who caught it. Nyx was too busy catching her breath and shoving back all the Dark Eco she'd been running on. 

"You sure you're okay...?" Jak asked, grabbing Nyx's shoulders to make her look at him. 

Nyx nodded, giving a breathless laugh. "Yeah. That thing put up one hell of a fight, didn't it?"

"It sure did," Jak replied, still looking Nyx over. Coming down from a Dark Eco high was never pleasant, it usually left you feeling drained and empty. And in Nyx's case, she sometimes panicked when she came down, too. He wasn't too sure when that stage was going to hit her this time. 

"But nothing can stop us, right Jak?" Nyx asked, her voice starting to shake a bit. She was definitely coming down from her high, as she forced back the Dark Eco that crackled under her skin.

Jak nodded and had to smile a bit. "You got that right. Now c'mon, let's get back to the city... Before that storm gets here..."


	13. A Warrior Who Stands By Her Morals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Damas seemingly wants Nyx and Jak to battle to the death with Sig, Nyx loses her temper and screams a lot of insults at Damas. This, coupled with all of them refusing to fight, severely angers Damas. Though the whole situation isn't exactly what it seems to be. Sig later tells them why he was spying in Haven City.

Nyx and Jak shared a wary glance as the arena around them suddenly went eerily quiet. That had never happened before... Damas hadn't said anything either, and the crowd wasn't cheering in victory... Which meant there was still someone out there with them...

Listening carefully, they finally caught the faint sound of boots on the stone floor. Judging by the sound, their owner was creeping around the giant stone block they were backed up against, trying to sneak up on them.

Jak looked to Nyx, and cautiously motioned forwards. Nyx nodded, and readied her weapon. She followed Jak as he eased around the corner of the block, hearing the other person's footsteps do the same. Jak hesitated at the corner of the block, turned to Nyx, and mouthed a silent countdown. 

On one, Jak sprung from around the corner, with Nyx at his heels. Their unknown opponent did the same, and all parties were ready to fire. But before anyone could get a shot off, both parties froze, staring at each other in disbelief. 

"Sig?" Jak questioned, almost not believing what his eyes were showing him. What was Sig, of all people, doing there?

"Jak? Daxter? ...Nyx?" the dark-skinned man questioned, bewilderment in his own voice. 

Daxter leaped up from his crouched position on Jak's shoulder, arms open like he wanted to give the larger man a hug. "Sig!"

"Don't you three look sorrier than ever..." Sig said, gesturing to how all three of them were covered in blood and dirt. 

"What are you doing here?" Jak asked, choosing to disregard the slight insult to their appearances. They probably did look like a mess...

"Honing my skills," Sig replied, and then his lips pulled back into a snarl. "Let's finish this..."

Nyx's eyes widened and Dark Eco jolted through her as Sig threatened them and raised his gun. He wasn't actually going to try killing them, was he? She'd met him a few times when making deliveries to Krew, and he'd always seemed like a great guy. Jak and Daxter seemed to really like and trust him, too...

"Woah, c'mon, Sig! I'm not gonna fight you!" Jak admonished, lowering his gun and raising his hands in surrender. 

Usually, Jak's reaction to being threatened was to get violent, but he couldn't bring himself to do that with Sig. He trusted Sig, and he knew damn well that he wouldn't kill friends in cold blood.

"If we don't, he'll kill us all," Sig replied, motioning up to where Damas sat in his fancy throne. "Rule of the arena. Sorry, nothing personal,"

"Uh oh..." Daxter gulped as Sig raised his gun at them again.

Every fibre in Nyx's body told her to either run, or shoot. But Jak wasn't moving a damn muscle. He was staring down the barrel of Sig's gun with a determined glare, and even if she wanted to run, Nyx wasn't going to leave him and Daxter there. So she stood by them, staring Sig down and waiting to see if he'd start charging that peace maker of his.

There was a moment of tension, as they all glared at each other, Sig's gun trained on Jak's chest. But then the moment broke, and Sig's face morphed into defeat. He tossed his gun onto the ground, and stared resolutely at the Haven trio.

"Blasphemy!" Damas bellowed from his throne. "One must destroy the other! Complete the test, or face worse pain!"

Nyx glared up at the King, and even though she knew she probably shouldn't have, opened her mouth to retort. "Are you crazy?! It's one thing to pit us against those Marauder assholes! But pitting your own people against each other?! That's fucking insane! What the hell's your damage?!"

Sig stared in complete awe as Nyx screetched up at Damas. She wasn't actually doing that, was she? She wasn't screaming insults at the King of Spargus... Sweet Precursors, she was... That was not how Sig remembered the quiet Underground messenger...

"You dare to challenge my rules and disrespect me in my own arena?" Damas growled, eyes narrowing. "Seize them!"

Once again, every fibre in Nyx's body told her to either run or shoot, as Wastelanders rushed down into the arena. Her fingers twitched towards the trigger of her gun as Dark Eco sparked to life inside her again, but Jak's hand firmly landed on her's, drawing her eyes to him. He shook his head slowly and calmly, his message clear; Don't fight. Not this time...

She had to force herself to not retaliate as the Wastelanders dragged the four of them off, but she understood why Jak had told her to not fight it. Maybe Damas had been wrong to pit his people against each other, but getting in a fight with more of said people wasn't going to solve it. 

Not even Sig - Who was stronger than all of them - fought against being restrained and lead to Damas' throne room. He'd accepted the fact that this was happening.

When they arrived in Damas' throne room and were left there by the other Wastelanders, Damas didn't look happy at all. In fact, he looked outraged as he marched down the steps to glare at the four, and get in their faces. "How dare you four defile the purity of the arena! Sig, your time in Haven City has poisoned you. And you, newcomers! You deserve no mercy!"

"Okay, now wait a minute!" Nyx snapped, Dark Eco once again sparking to life in her veins. "I've just had an epiphany! You are crazy! You expect your own people to kill each other in there?! And you call that 'purity'?! What in the name of Mar is wrong with you?!"

As soon as Jak felt the Dark Eco start sparking from Nyx's skin, he knew that this was probably going to be bad... He agreed with her, and he wouldn't deny that he was angry about it himself, but he didn't want Nyx to start a fight over it... Therefore, he reached out to grab both her arms in an attempt to keep her from becoming physically violent. It didn't happen often, but Jak wanted to make sure that this time wasn't one of them. Meanwhile, Sig stared on in something like horror as he watched Nyx fume. Did she have any idea who she was talking to...?

Nyx didn't seem fazed by Jak grabbing onto her, and simply continued her rant. "I'm a goddamn soldier, Mr. Kingly Britches! I've seen real war amongst people! And the number one rule of war is that you protect your own! You do not, under any circumstance, kill your own! I've seen people betray that rule; That's how I lost my father, that's how I ended up infused with Dark Eco! And I refuse to be like the people who caused all that! So y'know what? Go ahead! Throw us back out there, see if I care! My conscience is goddamn clean!"

Even Jak was a bit surprised by how pissed she was getting. He'd never expected her to tell Damas to throw them out if he wanted. Apparently she was pretty steamed about this... Or maybe it was just from a build-up of Dark Eco and stress... That would do it, too...

The room lapsed into silence, as Nyx apparently had nothing more to say. Either that, or she was waiting for Damas' response. Said King was staring intently at her, looking vaguely surprised, but still angry. Then, his expression changed into one of understanding. "A warrior who stands by her morals, hm? I admire that... I should still throw you all out into the jaws of the desert, though... However... Sig, your years of service as our spy in Haven has earned you a chance to reedeem yourself... But only this once!"

"A spy?" Jak questioned, turning around slightly to point this towards Sig.

Sig motioned for Jak to be quiet, and muttered a hushed "Just shut up, I'll tell you later," to him.

"And while I should not even consider showing the same kind of compassion to you newcomers, you have been valuable to us... And your morals are clearly strong. So I will allow you a second chance, as well. But it is the only one you will ever get," Damas said, staring purposefully at Nyx as he spoke. 

Nyx glared back at Damas, but said nothing as the King continued speaking. "There is a nest of Metalpedes not too far from here. They have been harassing our artifact carriers for some time... I want you to drive into the heart of the nest, and take out all the creatures you find inside. I'd say good luck, but then luck won't help you..."

The four that stood before Damas exchanged glances, before Sig nodded sternly and started leading the other three towards the elevator, desperate to get out of that room before Nyx said something else to piss off Damas. Once inside said elevator, Sig sighed heavily and looked towards Nyx. "Cherry, do you have a death wish or something? I don't think nobody's ever talked to Damas like that before,"

Nyx gave a sigh that turned into a weak groan, and dragged her hands down her face. The Dark Eco rush was dying now, and it left her feeling drained and guilty. "I'm sorry..."

Jak moved to gently grab Nyx's hands and steady their shaking. "It's alright... It's okay. I understand why it pissed you off so badly..."

Nyx took another few deep breaths. "I don't usually lose it like that, though... But this one just. Got me, I guess..."

Sig gave her a pat on the back that felt a little more like a slap, as the elevator doors opened. "Don't sweat it, chilli pepper. Damas'll be mad at you for a while, but he likes his fighters with spirit. Least you didn't back down and cower,"

Nyx snorted and tried to look calmer than she was as they headed back out into Spargus. "I haven't bowed to any man in a long time... Especially not just because he's the big leader of something..."

"Y'know, you've changed since I last saw you, cherry. What happened?" Sig asked, trying to direct the conversation elsewhere as Jak tried to keep Nyx calm. 

"Dark Eco happened, Sig. Which actually happened before the last time I saw you. But the last time I saw you was. Bitterly happy. I had no reason to be mad at anything..." Nyx replied, combing fingers back through her hair as Jak walked beside her with their shoulders pressed together and hands intertwined. Daxter crawled over onto her shoulder, and leaned on her head casually. Nyx idly thought about how the ottsel had been uncharacteristically quiet through this whole thing. For once, he hadn't opened his big mouth and made things worse. 

No, that had been her job this time...

"Well, you're definitely one powerful spitfire now, aren't you?" Sig asked, laughing a bit. "Just don't go letting that fire consume you,"

Nyx gave a breathy laugh. "Yeah, thanks, Sig. I'll keep that in mind,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm sorry for getting you cherries into that mess..."

Nyx looked up from where she was bandaging a few small wounds that Jak had ended up with, and stared at the big Wastelander who had just randomly appologized to them. "What are you sorry for...?"

"Damas didn't know that I entered the arena today," Sig explained, trying to look busy by cleaning his own cuts. "And I didn't know that we were testing newcomers, no one thought to mention it. And it's an established rule of the arena that only one man be left standing..."

"So, you're saying that Damas didn't actually want us to kill each other...?" Jak asked slowly. 

Sig nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Damas isn't that kinda guy. But he's our ruler, and he can't go questioning himself or playing favoritism in front of all his people, y'know?"

Nyx groaned and visably deflated. "Oh, now I feel really great for yelling at him like that..."

"Don't sweat it, cherry. I think he can forgive you. Besides, like I said; He likes warriors with spirit," Sig assured her, reaching over to pat her on the back, though it was once again more like a slap. 

Nyx sighed, and Daxter took the opportunity to pipe up with a question of his own, jumping onto Nyx's shoulder to be closer to Sig. "So if it's a rule of the arena that only one guy come out alive, why's he been lettin' all three of us fight together?"

"Well, like I said; Damas doesn't usually pit his people against each other. And I guess he saw you three as a team, so he decided to test you as such," Sig explained. "Wouldn't make much sense to have seperate arena fights. After all, if you can't survive as a team, then you'd be no good by yourselves, either,"

Nyx hummed. "Guess that makes sense..."

There were then a few moments of silence, as everyone present tended to the small wounds they'd ended up with from attacking the Metalpede nest. The turret on their vehicle had taken out the Metalpedes pretty easily, but there had been smaller Metal Heads present, as well as plenty of shrapnel from hitting things other than Metal Heads. The scratches weren't deep enough to warrant using any Eco, but they were deep enough to bother with cleaning. 

After a few moments, Sig spoke up again. "So how'd you cherries end up out here, anyways?"

"We were exiled," Jak replied simply, as Nyx covered the last of his wounds. 

Sig raised an eyebrow at Jak's deliberately vague answer. "Care to elaborate?"

It was Nyx who chose to answer that one, speaking with a sigh. "Well... You know what happened in Haven, don't you? The Metal Heads getting in, and the Palace getting destroyed... Some council big-wig named Veger tried to pin the blame on me and Jak..."

Sig shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Always something in Haven, isn't it?"

Nyx hummed a bitter affirmative. Haven was her home, but man was there always some bullshit going down these days. She missed the simple days of being a kid, she really did...

"So what's with that whole 'spy' thing, huh, Sig?" Daxter then questioned, pointing a finger at the dark-skinned Wastelander. 

Sig sighed. "I suppose I do owe you cherries an explanation,"

"Damn right!" Daxter muttered, settling in on Nyx's shoulder to listen to Sig. 

"I dunno if he ever told you," Sig started. "But Damas had a son, once. He went missing not long after his fifth birthday, and Damas believed that someone from Haven had kidnapped him. So I was sent in to try finding the poor kid... Never did..."

Everyone was silent for a short moment, before Nyx sighed softly. "Well that really sucks..."

Sig nodded. "It sure does... Damas finally called me back to Spargus last week, finally deciding that it was time to give up,"

Nyx shook her head slowly. "I can't imagine having to give up on finding your child... That's really gotta be awful..."

Sig gave an agreeing nod. "Damas tries to take everything in stride, but I can tell that it still hurts. Probably always will,"

"Do you think his son is still alive...?" Jak inquired carefully. He didn't want to pry... But now he was curious. 

Sig hummed thoughtfully before responding. "I dunno, chilli pepper. I'd like to believe that he is. Better than the alternative,"

Nyx wanted to challenge that. To tell Sig that if that child was out there being abused and mistreated, that maybe being dead would be the better of two sins. But she didn't want to insult anyone by saying that, so she kept her mouth shut and busied her hands with cleaning up the medical supplies. 

"But Damas is... Ready to let go, then?" questioned Jak as he stood up and retrieved his armor. 

Sig gave half a shrug. "I suppose so, if he called me back. Though he'll probably never stop hoping,"

"Ya think there's a chance of ever findin' this kid?" Daxter asked. 

"I dunno, Daxter," Sig replied. "I went all over Haven looking for him, and I didn't find anything. But I guess the possibility is always there,"

Nyx hummed softly. "Well, I've seen some pretty amazing things happen in my time, so... Let's hope this will be another of them, shall we?"


	14. Tell The World I'm Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being located by Ashelin, she asks Jak and Nyx to return to Haven City and help them win the war. She gives Jak his seal back, and it turns out that it was exactly what they needed to get back to Haven via the Precursor subrails. Once back in Haven, they meet up with Samos and Keira, who tell them to take the sewers into the Port, where they'll likely find Torn and his men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been dying to write this from day one, and it's finally here! We are officially back in Haven, oh yes. Things are going to get good from here.

Some part of Nyx almost believed that what she was seeing was a dream, or even a fancy desert mirage that was playing with her emotions. The steady hammering of her heart was definitely real, though, and the subtle vibration of Dark Eco in her veins was, too. This was happening...

As soon as Jak had their buggy parked, Nyx was vaulting herself out of it and rushing towards the person that was stood beside a very familiar Haven hellcat. "Ashelin!"

Nyx launched herself into the dreadlocked woman's arms, and Ashelin caught her easily, as if she expected it. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Nyx exclaimed, standing up on her toes to properly hug the taller woman. 

"It's good to see you still in one piece, too," Ashelin said, patting Nyx on the back, and then looking up towards Jak and Daxter as they approached. "All of you,"

Jak nodded and smiled slightly. "It's good to see you, too, Ashelin,"

Nyx finally pulled away from Ashelin to eagerly stare at her. "How's Torn? And Tess, and Keira?"

"We're all fine," Ashelin assured her. "I haven't heard from Torn in a few days, but I'm sure he's alright,"

"Where is he that you haven't heard from him...?" Nyx asked, sounding concerned. What had happened while they were gone?

"Veger has the old sector barriers back up, and it's divided a lot of our forces. Torn's stuck out at the port with a whole squad of operatives," Ashelin answered. "And communications have been a bit shoddy lately..."

Nyx's eyebrows creased together, and she went silent. That didn't sound promising... Jak took the moment to speak up and ask a question himself. "You're here for a reason, aren't you?"

Ashelin nodded. "I need you three to come back to the city. We're losing the fight... Veger is drunk with power and he's taken command. He doesn't understand what he's up against. I need you to-"

Ashelin's sentence was cut off by the sound of tires screetching over sand in the distence. Moments later, various Marauder vehicles tore over the horizon, speeding directly for them. "Look out!" Jak yelled, drawing his gun as Daxter leaped back onto his shoulder.

"Shit!" Nyx hissed, drawing her own gun and switching to the vulcan fury. Why did it always have to be goddamn Marauders?!

Ashelin grit her teeth and readied her own firearm. She knew that the Wastelands were dangerous, but she hadn't expected to be ambushed like this...

The Marauder vehicles had them surrounded in the blink of an eye, and the savage warriors driving them began to pour out, weapons drawn and ready for battle. 

There was a moment of hesitation between both parties, each waiting for the other to attack like some kind of unspoken battle courtesy. The moment was shattered in one instant, though, as the Marauders charged forwards with vicious yells. 

Jak was quick to dive into the action, while Nyx and Ashelin chose to put a little more distence between themselves and their enemies. They were lucky that Marauders tended to use bladed weapons instead of guns, otherwise distence wouldn't mean much of anything. 

After checking Jak's position in the horde, Nyx opened heavy fire on the Marauders, letting Blue Eco bullets rip past their miniscule armor and into their flesh. Every time she used the vulcan fury, it reminded her of that day in back in Haven, when she'd been shot and subsequently forced to open fire on that squad of Krimzon Guards. She'd felt guilty about that day for a long time...

There wasn't any guilt now, however. Not about that day, and not about this moment. She'd come to terms with the fact that people had to die during a war, and that the only thing anyone can do is fight for their people and what they believe. They couldn't get caught up in all the petty details of it. It sounded heartless when she tried to put it into words, but it kept her mind focused during battle. Outside of battle was perhaps another story, but she tried to remind herself that she was no more guilty than her opponents.

As Jak mowed through Marauders at close range, Nyx and Ashelin continued sniping them from a distence, keeping as many of them away from themselves and Jak as possible. They might not have had guns, but they all knew that these Marauders were dangerous, regardless of how far away they were. 

The air was polluted with the sounds of bullets, yelling, and scraping metal. No one could precisely tell what was coming from where, as was the standard of a hectic battle, but there were certain sounds that Nyx had come to know by heart when it came to fighting alongside Jak.

Such as the yell that he always gave when he transformed into his Dark self...

Nyx's eyes snapped towards Jak's location as she heard the screetch, and she watched as the Marauders around him leaped back from the Dark Eco that jumped and arced off his skin. Nyx hadn't seen what happened to trigger the transformation, but she hoped that neither he nor Daxter were injured... 

As much as she wanted to keep an eye on Jak now, Nyx had to focus on the small group of Marauders that were stalking towards her and Ashelin. The redhead's pistol could only fire so fast, compared to the vulcan fury - Especially since Jak had been modifying theirs. 

The Marauders may have been numerous, but their opponents had Dark Jak, which meant that the Marauders didn't stand a chance. As the bodies piled up around Jak, the Marauders slowly stopped showing up. 

Eventually, they stopped coming at all, and the oasis plunged into an eerie silence, broken only by the heavy breathing of the battle's winners. Nyx's was quick to holster her gun and begin moving towards Jak, making sure she was in his line of sight before she got too close. 

Jak turned towards her as she approached, his body language rather calm for someone who had just violently tore apart a group of men whilst in a Dark Eco rage. He was covered in blood, but that wasn't really anything new to any of them. 

Nyx reached out to cup his face when she reached him, and stared into the inky blackness of his eyes. Those eyes closed moments later, as Jak groaned and forcefully pulled back on the Eco rushing through his body. When his eyes opened again, they were that familiar shade of blue. 

"Are you hurt?" Nyx asked softly, beginning to look Jak over for wounds. He was covered in so much blood from other people, though...

Jak shook his head and smiled at her. "I'm fine,"

Nyx stared at him for a second, trying to decide if she believed him. Then she nodded, and started walking back towards Ashelin, with Jak following behind her. 

Ashelin was leaned over her hellcat, and looked over her shoulder as the trio approached. "Keira wanted me to give you these," she said, pulling out two JET-boards from within her vehicle. 

Jak eagerly accepted the JET-board that was presented to him, but Nyx hesitated in taking the other. She looked almost scared of the device, but eventually she took it. "Is Keira sure she wants to give this to me? I don't have the best balence in the world..."

"I'll teach you," Jak said with a grin, lightly bumping Nyx's shoulders as he strapped his hoverboard to his back. 

Nyx sighed and shook her head, but went ahead and attatched her own board to the leather strap around her chest. She'd done more dangerous things than ride a JET-board, right?

"The city needs you three..." Ashelin then stated. "Will you come back?"

Nyx was more than ready to give Ashelin a whole-hearted yes, but she couldn't speak for Jak. She looked over at him, and their eyes met. There was an obvious resolution in Jak's eyes as he stared back at her; It wasn't a question for him. 

"Of course we will," Jak confirmed with a nod.

Nyx grinned brightly as Ashelin nodded and smiled. "I can't take you back into the city through the gates, so you're going to have to find another way in,"

Nyx and Jak looked to each other in question, both of them unsure how they might be able to get into the city without going through a main gate. Was there even any back ways in like that?

"Hey, what about that temple place?" Daxter piped up. "We saw Veger deep inside that place, and he definitely didn't walk through the front door like we did! That means it might lead back to the city somehow, right?"

Nyx's eyes darted back and forth as she considered the idea. "That... Just might work... Veger implied that the temple connected to the catacombs, didn't he?"

"And there were catacombs underneath the Palace..." Jak hummed in continuation. Then he nodded. "Only one way to find out,"

"If you can't find a way back through there, try to contact me, you have my comm line now," Ashelin informed them, climbing back into her hellcat and starting the engine. 

Jak nodded. "Will do,"

"Oh, before I forget," Ashelin hummed, reaching into her pocket to produce something circular and red-orange in color. "I thought you might want this back,"

Jak reached out to take the object, and turned it over in his hands. It was the seal of Mar that his younger self had worn around his neck. "Thanks..."

"You're welcome. And good luck," Ashelin responded. She then kicked her hellcat into first gear, and the vehicle rose up into the sky to zoom towards the horizon. 

Nyx and Jak looked between each other, each a bit unsure about how this was all going to go down. But then they grinned at each other, and eagerly headed back for their buggy. It was time to go temple spelunking. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, did you expect the giant killer Precursor robot?" Nyx asked as she brushed the dirt off her clothes and watched as Jak crouched on the ground and fiddled with their guns. 

Jak shook his head, fitting stray robot pieces into their firearms. "Can't say I did,"

"I've seen some shit in my lifetime, but giant killer Precursor robots is not something I ever expected to see. Don't tell me this one doesn't amaze you?" Nyx questioned, raising a brow at Jak.

"We've seen somethin' like that puppy before," Daxter replied enthusiastically. "I think it was made of a whoooole lotta scrap parts, though, 'cause it went down way easier than the bad boy at the bottom of that hole," 

Nyx blinked slowly a few times, her face showing complete disbelief. "So you're saying that's not the first killer Precursor robot you've seen?"

"Nope," Jak answered idly, still transforming robot parts into a gun upgrade of some kind. Nyx wasn't even going to ask him how he was doing that... She'd learned that he was a bit of a whizz when it came to gun upgrades, and she'd stopped asking questions a long time ago.

Nyx stared at him for a few more moments. "You guys have gotta tell me more about your adventures before you came to Haven, because I feel like I'm missing something important here..."

Jak chuckled quietly and hauled himself back to his feet, handing Nyx's gun back to her. "Note taken. Now try that one out,"

Nyx gave Jak a slightly cautious and judging look as she hefted her gun up. "It's not going to explode, is it?"

"No, of course not. Just try it," Jak insisted, leaning forwards on his own gun that sported the same upgrade mod. 

Nyx narrowed her eyes, but then smirked at Jak, and fired her gun into the empty abyss that they'd just dumped that Precursor robot into. A bolt of flickering blue lightning blasted out of her gun barrel, and she nearly dropped the gun in shock. 

"Holy shit, Jak!" Nyx hissed out as she turned to stare at him. "What hath you created?"

Jak grinned and collapsed his own gun to strap it to his back. "I dunno, yet. Maybe you can help me name it,"

Nyx shook her head and collapsed her own weapon. "I'm almost starting to regret telling you to get a hobby,"

Jak snorted and motioned for Nyx to follow him out the way Veger went. "C'mon. Let's go topside and see what kinda trouble we can get into,"

Nyx laughed and jogged a few steps to catch up with Jak's slightly longer stride. "I can't believe we're finally back... I was starting to think we never would..."

Jak glanced over at Nyx, and then reached out to pull her against his right side. "I promised you we would, didn't I?"

Nyx chortled softly. "Yeah. You did,"

"I've never broken a promise to you, and I wasn't gonna start now," Jak stated as the huge door Veger had gone out slid open. 

Nyx smiled and leaned into Jak's side. "I know,"

The door that Veger had escaped through lead to an elevator, and the trio made their way into it. The door slid shut behind them, and the elevator began it's rapid ascent upwards. Nyx's heart was beating out of her chest as she waited for the elevator door to open again; She was so excited to finally be home! She could finally see Torn and all her other friends again!

But as the door slid open and revealed the steel walls of Haven, Nyx's heart sank deep into her gut. She slowly stepped out of the elevator, and looked around. She didn't know what to say...

Haven looked desolate and empty, moreso than it ever had been during the rule of Baron Praxis. There was absolutely no-one walking the streets; No signs of life throughout the city at all. The fact that it was night time didn't help the dreary feel the whole city seemed to have. The last time Nyx had been in this sector, it had been bustling with life. 

Now it was depressingly empty and destroyed...

Jak's hand sliding into her's brought her out of the daze she didn't realize she'd been in. He wasn't sure what to say, either, but he was there. That was what mattered, right? Nyx gave Jak's hand a firm squeeze, and together they began walking through the deserted city. 

Nyx was certain that even the sounds of their boots hitting the ground was dejected and empty, just like the rest of Haven. It was honestly heartbreaking...

For a while, their boots hitting the floor was the only sounds throughout the city, making them feel absolutely alone within it. But then the sound of something small skittering across the floor reached their ears... That sound was unmistakable... It was a Metal Head Stinger.

In one smooth motion, Jak had his gun out and had spun around to blast an arc of electricity at the offending creature that had tried to sneak up on them. It's skull gem popped from it's head as the beam made contact, and the small little body disinegrated into a blob of Dark Eco that Jak's body openly absorbed. 

"Eugh! Looks like the Metal Heads have claimed this part of the city as theirs..." Daxter mumbled, scampering off Jak's shoulder to grab the skull gem that laid on the floor. 

Nyx was silent as she turned in a slow circle, her eyes scanning the horizon for any more oncoming Metal Heads. She wasn't seeing any, but that didn't mean they weren't there...

After a few tense moments of waiting to be attacked again, Jak nudged Nyx's arm gently, and mumbled a "C'mon," to her, leading her further into the ruined city. 

The eerie silence broken only by footfalls resumed, but this time it was more tense than before. They all knew that you never found just one Metal Head... Those things travelled in groups, especially those little stingers...

As expected, they hadn't gotten much farther, when the sound of many little Metal Head feet scampering across the ground suddenly could be heard. Nyx muttered various curse words as a small group of the puppy-sized Metal Heads rushed towards them, and she backed up against Jak as she cocked her gun. It was always good to have a battle partner...

Luckily for them, it was only stingers, which went down easy when faced with the new gun upgrade Jak had come up with. It wasn't long before the streets were empty again, leaving only the three heroes standing in the dingey city. 

They began to hurry up after that, moving quickly and mowing down the Metal Heads that now seemed to be crawling out of every hole imaginable. And they both knew that Haven had a lot of little holes...

They'd fried a good number of Metal Heads by the time they reached the border of New Haven. And the first thing they noticed about New Haven was the fact that they couldn't get inside it... The old energy barriers had been activated like Ashelin said, physically seperating the city's sectors. It had probably been done to try keeping the Metal Heads in one particular part of the city...

But right now it was a bit of a problem for the Haven exiles, as the second thing they noticed about New Haven was that Samos and Keira were standing on the opposite side of the barrier, within New Haven itself. 

After treking through the ruins of her home, Nyx was understandably happy to see some familiar faces, and went sprinting towards the barrier. "Keira! Samos!"

"See, Keira? I told you I could feel their energy!" Samos boasted, looking over at Keira. 

"Ah, Samos," Daxter drawled as Jak caught up with Nyx. "Still as green as the stuff between my toes..."

Samos chose to disregard Daxter's comment... And instead address the other two on the opposite side of the barrier. "It's good to see the two of you again. Those passageways below the Palace... They must be terribly important! The Metal Heads and KG robots are advancing toward them, and we can't hold out forever!"

"So, the city needs me again, huh? What else is new?" Jak said with a sarcastic grin, earning him an elbow to the ribs from Nyx, though she was trying to not laugh at him.

"Veger has turned on the force-fields here," stated Keira, stepping up to motion at the energy walls that were currently seperating them. 

Jak's face morphed into anger, and he slammed one fist into the other palm. "Veger's the one who attacked the Palace! He said he was looking for something below... Something in the catacombs..."

"Well you're just going to have to find whatever it is before he does," Samos decided. "But first, you'll need to find another way into this section of the city,"

"You might be able to take the sewers into the port," Keira suggested. "Then try finding a way north to reach us,"

Jak nodded, and the trio turned to start heading off for the nearest sewer entrance, but were stopped by the sound of Keira's voice again. "Jak, Nyx! Wait..."

They turned again to get Keira back in their sights, the young woman looking rather sorry. "We're really sorry about what happened... We should have tried harder to stop Veger..."

There was a brief moment of silence as they tried to figure out what to say to that. Then, Nyx smiled. "Don't worry about it, Keira. We're back, now. And we're gonna fix the mess that Count Vulgar's got us in,"

As Daxter snickered at Nyx for using the nickname he came up with for Veger, Keira nodded at them. "Okay. Good luck,"


	15. Ain't Over Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After reuiniting with Torn at the Naughty Ottsel, Nyx and Jak head out into the city to defend the Freedom League forces from incoming Blast Bots. After successfully pulling off this mission, they find themselves being hailed by the last person they ever thought they'd see again; Errol. But it looks like the circumstances of his 'death' has left him changed for the worst...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter introduces a **major** change to the entire plot of Jak3; _Cyber Errol is now Dark Errol_. Someone in the JnD discord I'm in mentioned it, and I thought that it was literally the best idea ever. So I decided to make it part of this series, since it's already pretty AU. I'm insanely excited to write this version of Errol, if I'm being honest. Plus, it just makes a lot more sense in the long run.

"Eugh, nobody ever told me how gross the sewers are..." Nyx mumbled, wiping her hands on the back of her pants. "And I know that's not the first time you've been down there..."

"Nope," Jak chuckled, watching Nyx try to clean her hands off. At least they hadn't fallen into the gross waters down there or something. That would have sucked. 

Nyx sighed as the elevator door cranked open, revealing the all too familiar port. She looked around as they stepped out, noticing that the port looked significantly less destroyed than Main Town did. There were even Freedom League soldiers patrolling around!

"Hey, lookit that! The good guys are here!" Daxter exclaimed, pointing towards one of the blue-armored people as they trekked by. 

Nyx grinned wide. It was good knowing that not everything was gone. There were still people alive in Haven. Still a population to save and preserve. "Oh yeah, this war ain't over yet..."

Jak hummed as they began walking through the Port. "Ashelin said that Torn's holed up somewhere here... We should go find him..."

Nyx's eyes lit up even more at the mention of Torn, and nodded eagerly. "You're right! We definitely need to link up with our forces again. Torn's a good place to start..."

Perhaps she'd tried masking it by saying they needed to re-connect with their people, but Jak knew that Nyx just wanted to make sure that Torn was okay. They were family, after all. "Where do we start looking?"

Nyx hummed as she thought about it. "Well... The Naughty Ottsel is here... If he's not there, maybe Tess will be?"

"Ooooh, yeah! I've missed my cozy little piece of heaven..." Daxter cooed. "And let's not get started 'bout that blonde bombshell..."

"Alright," said Jak decidedly, leading to way to the Naughty Ottsel. "Let's go, then,"

Nyx's heart was slamming in her chest as they made their way around the port to reach Daxter's bar. She was finally home, and if she was lucky, she'd been seeing Torn sometime soon. And then they'd figure out how to kick the Metal Heads and KG bots out of their city for good. Yeah, things were looking up.

"Hey, Dax, look," Nyx laughed as the Naughty Ottsel came into view. "Your huge neon sign is still there,"

"Oh, thank the Precursors! That thing is what brings in all the customers, ya know!" Daxter declared arrogantly. Jak and Nyx just laughed at him.

The door was unlocked when they reached it, meaning that someone definitely had to be inside, right? They took a few paces into the establishment, before Nyx shrieked with joy and rushed past Jak to crash into the other person in the room.

"Torn!" she sang, launching herself into the brunette's arms. He caught her like it was second nature, though he looked incredibly confused as to what was going on as she buried herself into his chest. 

Then Torn looked towards the door, where Jak and Daxter stood quietly. And then it clicked. Torn wrapped his arms around Nyx's back with vice-like strength, holding her to him as he heard her choke back a sob.

They stayed frozen like that for a moment, before Nyx pulled back to look up at Torn with teary eyes. "It's so good to see you again..."

Torn studied her face for a moment, taking in everything that had changed. Her hair was shorter, and there was something different in her eyes, but it was her. Nearly the same as he'd last seen her. "I thought I would never see you again..."

Nyx gave a watery laugh. "As if! Nothing could keep me from coming home! Not Veger, not the damn desert!"

"So Ashelin's mysterious friend did find you...?" Torn asked, raising a curious eyebrow. 

Nyx nodded. "Yeah! There's a whole city out there called Spargus!"

"A whole city, huh? Least you haven't been holed up in some cave..." Torn mumbled. "I'm glad you're back, though. Both of you,"

"It's good to be back," Jak said, stepping forwards to shake Torn's hand. "Looks like you could use our help,"

"Yeah," Torn said, as if he could hear the implied 'The city's a wreck' that was in Jak's words. "We've been taking a huge beating here the past few months. Veger sent me on a suicide attack into the Port, and we got cut off. Now we can't get back to Freedom HQ,"

Nyx hummed. "Ashelin said it was because of Veger putting up the old force fields..."

"He did that around the same time we got cut off, but no. This was the work of those KG death bots, I'm sure of it. They and the Metal Heads have been squeezing us from both sides!"

"Never fear!" Daxter proclaimed with a huge wave of his arms. "The trouble team is here!"

Nyx smirked at Daxter, and that was when the big holographic table Torn had started blaring an alarm. That... Couldn't be good, right...?

"Uh oh... Speaking of trouble..." Torn muttered, pulling up a hologram feed of somewhere else in the city. "We've got incoming blast bots from the KG city section... They're heading this way! Can you handle it, Jak?"

"Okay..." Daxter mumbled. "So we got a little fear... Hehe... But these two are here!"

Nyx and Jak grinned at each other mischievously. Nyx unholstered her gun, and then cocked it. "Ready to downgrade some motherboards?"

"Oh yeah," Jak purred, unholstering his own weapon. 

Daxter leaped back to Jak's shoulder, and the three began making their way towards the door. Torn's voice stopped them before they got there, though. "Now hang on a minute!"

The trio turned to watch as Torn pointed towards Nyx. "Did I say that you were going?"

Nyx blinked a few times, looking bemused. "Do you need me for something else?"

"No..." Torn replied slowly. "But you-"

"Torn," Nyx cut him off firmly, leaning forwards on her gun. "Listen, I've been fighting for my right to live for almost six months now. I can handle a few blast bots, and I won't even be alone,"

Torn grimaced slightly. "I don't doubt that you can handle it, but-"

"No 'buts', Torn," Nyx dictated, giving him a look that said she wasn't going to buy his protective bullshit. "I know that you wanna protect me, but I'm an adult now. I've learned how to take care of myself, I've learned to fight. That's all I've been doing lately. And I don't intend on stopping anytime soon. I stood by and let things happen during the last war we had. I'm not doing it again, Torn. I'm going to fight for my people this time, and you can't stop me,"

Torn stared at her for a moment, looking some form of shocked. Then he sighed and nodded, accepting the truth that she shouldn't have had to explain to him. "Alright. You're right. Go get 'em..."

Nyx offered a smile, and nodded. "Don't worry, Torn. We'll be back,"

"You better be," Torn warned them as they finally made their way out of the door and out into Haven. 

He'd known for a long time that Nyx was no longer the fifteen year old that he'd dragged from her home four years ago when her father was murdered. She was an adult now - Had been for a while - And she could handle her own. But he'd never seen her fight before. Even after becoming a Chief Warrant Officer, she'd always leaned towards desk work and other non-violent projects. The most violent thing she'd been assigned was getting the shield walls back up (Not like that one mattered in the long run...). And even then, Silas and Jak had done all the fighting. 

And Torn was having a hard time imagining her out there, fighting deadly things the way Jak did every day. It left him concerned, but also a bit emotionally sobered. He knew what he'd seen in her eyes now; Fierce determination to protect what was her's. It was the will to fight. She'd grown up and learned how to stand up since he'd last seen her. And now she was completely and utterly refusing to back down. 

She was starting to remind Torn of himself... And he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the 'trouble team' returned from wrecking the incoming blast bots, Torn was desperately trying to hail Ashelin on the communicator system that was built into his hologram table. "Ashelin! Ashelin, it's Torn. Jak and Nyx are back in the city!"

As the aforementioned people brushed off all the dirt and rubble that was clinging to their clothes, a holographic image of Ashelin sprung to life in the center of the table. "I knew I could count on you two to find a way back in,"

"That new KG leader's probably pissing in his-" Torn's cocky statement was suddenly interuptted, as the hologram before them started to flicker and fail. "Wait! Someone's jamming the signal! I think-"

As a new face appeared in the holographic screen, Jak and Nyx didn't have to look twice to know who it was. Nyx grit her teeth as Jak spit out the name. "Errol..."

"Ah, Jak..." Errol growled out, staring menacingly into whatever camera was projecting his image onto their screen. "And Nyx, too... Just the wretched creatures I wanted to see...!"

As Errol ground out his words, it was obvious that something was wrong with him. He sounded tense and full of energy; It sounded like he was forcing each word to come out somewhat calmly. He sounded like a downright madman. This wasn't the Errol that they'd previously known... 

"I see that you're still fighting for the weak link, eh? Well, don't you worry about that! I'll be destroying that link soon enough! And that will only be the beginning of making you pay for what you've done to me!" Errol's words turned frantic and downright terrifying as he growled them out with rough vocal chords.

As Errol's words rang through Nyx's ears, she recalled the way that he'd 'died'. It had been in an explosion of Dark Eco, she'd seen it happen... And if he'd survived it... Her train of thought was broken by the transmission suddenly cutting back to the Freedom League HQ, where Samos was pushing Ashelin out of the way. 

"We must unite our forces, or we're through!" the Green Eco Sage was saying. "You two have got to reach us!"

Ashelin then pushed her way back into the frame, looking deadly serious. "We need you to break through and link up with us, before it's too late! The KG robots are growing stronger. That floating war factory of theirs is spitting out more robots every day,"

As the transmission flickered out and the room went silent, Jak and Nyx turned to stare at each other. Neither of them knew what to do with the idea that Errol was still alive. It was a bit haunting, to be quite frank.

Eventually, Nyx found her voice, and chose to talk about something entirely different. "We need to get back to Ashelin and the others. We need a plan,"

Torn took this as his prompt to start talking and drag the conversation to something that was easier to think about. "We need to assault the KG front! If we can break through their defenses, we may be able to get back to HQ and link up... Care to make some noise for us?"

"We're always up for a little rumble, eh guys?" Jak purred, shrugging one shoulder to prompt an answer from Daxter. 

"Fish in a barrel, baby!" Daxter smirked. "Fish, in a barrel,"

"We've had some eco charges set up in the Port for a while now, meant for charging up a missile that's docked out there. But the remote-control system isn't functional right now..." said Torn, his voice trailing off as he tried to think of a solution to this.

Daxter hummed thoughtfully. "Well..."

Jak looked over to his ottsel pal, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ya think maybe I could steer that baby?" Daxter questioned, trying to sound brave about his idea, but not exactly doing it right.

Torn narrowed his eyes as he thought about it. "In theory, yes. But I wouldn't-"

"Don't sweat it, Torn baby, Orange Lightning has got this one in the bag," Daxter declared, masking his own fear, still. "C'mon pals, let's rock their worlds!"

Nyx shrugged at Torn as Daxter tugged on Jak's ears to get him to walk towards the door. Her look told him to not question it. After that message had been delivered, she scampered after her friends, just barely slipping out the door before it closed in her face. 

"So..." Jak said slowly as Nyx fell into step beside him. 

Nyx knew the tone of Jak's voice a little too well, and she knew what he was going to say. "I know. I could've sworn that explosion killed him..."

"Buuuuttt it didn't..." Daxter stated, leaning around Jak's shoulder to get both of them in his sight.

Nyx chewed at the inside of her lip. "That was Dark Eco, Jak... There was so much of it, too, it should have killed him!"

"Do you think he's a channeler?" Jak questioned, looking over at her. 

"Has to be, if he survived direct contact with so much Dark Eco..." Nyx mumbled. "But look what Dark Eco's done to us when administered in controlled amounts..."

Jak sighed heavily, knowing just what she was getting at. "There was definitely something wrong with him... He didn't sound the same..."

"He's gone off the deep end, I think... And he's blaming you, Jak," Nyx finished for him, looking at him with worry in her eyes. 

Jak scoffed quietly. "Don't worry. He couldn't take me then, and he can't take me now,"

Nyx sighed quietly. "I sure hope you're right..."

"Have I ever been wrong?" Jak asked as Daxter leaped off his shoulder to go investigate the missile they had arrived at. 

Nyx pursed her lips as she thought about that. "Not explicitly, no..."

Jak smiled at her, and gently gripped her shoulder. "We can take him,"

Nyx heaved another sigh, and then nodded. "Okay," she then turned to Daxter and the missile. "So, what are we dealing with?"

Daxter turned around to give Nyx an unimpressed look. "Do I look like someone who knows anythin' 'bout missiles?"

Nyx shrugged. "Well, I mean... You're gonna be the one riding it..."

Daxter grimaced and stared at the missile. "Yeah..."

"You uh... You sure you wanna do that...?" Nyx asked slowly. Riding armed weapons didn't really... Sound like a good idea...

"Well it's not like I wanna!" Daxter retorted as he scrambled up onto the missile, trying to figure out how to ride it. "But we've gotta link up with HQ somehow, right? Sounds like this might be our only way..."

Nyx and Jak exchanged a worried look. "I'm sure there's gotta be some other way..." Jak suggested.

"Nah, nah!" Daxter insisted, looking behind him at the missile control panel. "I got this!"

And then Daxter reached behind himself to press the 'launch' button on the panel. Before Nyx or Jak could say anything, the missile had shot off it's stand, taking a screaming Daxter with it. 

"Holy shit!" Nyx hissed. "Is he gonna be okay?!"

Jak was silent a moment as he stared at the missile his best friend was riding, as it zipped along the waters of the Port. Daxter was trying his best to aim the missile towards the Eco charges Torn and his people had set up... "He'd better be..."

Nyx heaved a nervous sigh, and then started tugging Jak back towards the Naughty Ottsel. "C'mon. We should be able to monitor the missile from inside, if it's GPS is still functional,"

Jak stared out into the port for a moment longer, trying to keep eyes on the missile. Then he sighed and let himself be pulled away. "Good idea..."


	16. The Crappy Missions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx and Jak head over to the gun course to link-up with Tess, and upgrade their weaponry. Nyx manages to use this to somehow embarass Jak. They then set off to destroy the sniper cannons that have Torn's men pinned down in the Industrial sector.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda tried making the technology and way the cannons work be more... Logical?? But I'm not sure if I. Did that right. All I know is that switches are too convienent to be how actual cannons would work in this universe.

"So, Dax? Was that worth it?" Nyx asked as she held her glowing hand over the ottsel's body.

"No..." Daxter groaned, glaring at Torn as if riding the missile had been his idea and not Daxter's.

Torn scoffed at the ottsel. "Don't look at me like that. You're the one who suggested riding the missile,"

"Yeah! Well... One of ya shoulda stopped me!" Daxter complained. "And it's your fault that you're seperated from HQ, y'know!"

"No, Dax," Jak corrected. "It's Veger's. I'd bet that he seperated them intentionally,"

Nyx sighed. "I wouldn't put it past him..."

Daxter snorted and gave a 'Hmph!', wriggling out of Nyx's arms to leap up onto the big fancy table. "So! Whadda we do now?"

"I'd suggest heading over to the gun course. You're gonna need some heavier firepower if we're going to get anywhere," Torn advised, bringing up a map of Haven that showed the gun course location. 

Nyx and Jak looked to each other and nodded. "Gun course it is, then," Jak decided. "C'mon, Dax,"

Daxter sighed and vaulted back onto Jak's shoulder. "Never time for a nice tea break, is there?"

"Not during war, there's not," Nyx replied, following Jak out the door. "We'll be back, Torn!"

"I really hate war..." Daxter mumbled, crossing his arms. 

"Who doesn't?" Nyx rhetorically asked. "War is war. It's not meant to be fun,"

Daxter snorted and went quiet as Jak set his eyes on one of the parked FL zoomers not far away. As he fished out the keys without even having to think about where they were, he laughed. "This is all starting to feel a bit too familiar,"

"I've been thinking the same thing," Nyx chuckled. "Maybe we're in the middle of a war, but at least it's familiar,"

"Familiar how?" Daxter asked as Jak revved the engine and pulled out into the Port. 

"Think about it, Dax. We're holed up in some small building, with Torn at the head of our forces. Something else has control of the city, and we're fighting to kick it the fuck out," Nyx explained.

"And the keys are exactly where they've always been," Jak added, pointing to the secret little compartment. 

Daxter hummed. "Alright, so maybe it is familiar... Doesn't mean I have to like it!"

The drive to the gun course was short, but it was better than walking it. Time was slightly of the essence here. They parked the zoomer near the door, and headed inside. 

The blonde crouched by a collection of guns turned towards them as they entered, and her face lit up as soon as she saw Daxter. "Daxter! You're back!"

Daxter was quick to rush into Tess' arms, and let her pick him up, looking pretty damn happy to see her, as she started fussing over him. "Ooh! Did that mean old desert burn your itty bitty paws?"

"Hey, Tess, baby! Don't crush-a the merchandise!" Daxter warned, wiggling out of her arms to drop back to the floor. "How's biz?"

Tess grinned wide and motioned to the firearms behind her. "I'm designing new guns to help out the war effort!"

"You make guns now?" Jak questioned.

Nyx groaned. "Oh no. If you make guns... And Jak's a whizz at upgrading them... Oh no, Daxter we've gotta keep them far away from each other..."

"Oh c'mon!" Daxter scoffed. "Can't be that bad!"

Nyx grimaced slightly, as Tess hefted up an incredibly huge gun that appeared to be Yellow Eco based. "Yeah! I just finished this new gun! It sports a multi-port, large boar gyro-burst launcher with blowback breach assist! Using full-jacket Eco-depleting armor piercing slugs, and a continuous kill-zone scanner for tight groupings and a high cycle rate of fire!"

All present stared at Tess as she excitedly, and menacingly, explained her new gun to them. Tess then laughed like a schoolgirl, and shrugged. "It's a hobby,"

"Sweet Precursors, Tess..." Nyx groaned, dragging her hands down her face. "I'm never leaving you and Jak in the same room again..."

Daxter climbed over to Nyx's shoulder and gently pat her head. Meanwhile, Jak stepped forwards to try taking the immensely large gun from Tess. Nyx would have stopped him, but Tess beat her to it, holding the gun just out of Jak's reach. "Not so fast! First, you have to prove you can protect my little schnookums in the new gun course,"

Jak looked a bit unimpressed by Tess flirting with his best friend, but then grinned. "Bring it on,"

Tess motioned to one of the doors behind her and handed off the gun to Jak. "Have at it! And when you're done, maybe you'd like to give that baby a whirl, huh Nyx?"

"Listen... I dunno if you wanna trust me with something that powerful..." Nyx said, shaking her head. "I can barely handle the crazy electric thing Jak just came up with..."

"Oh, c'mon! Don't be silly!" Tess insisted. "Jak is super powerful, but we trust you with him!"

Nyx laughed, though she didn't want to. "Tess... Tess, that's not the same thing..."

"Sure it is!" Tess declared. "It's really not as heavy as it looks!"

Nyx sighed and shook her head. "Sure it's not,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Damn, you are scary good with that thing!" Daxter exclaimed. "You tore that baby up!"

As Nyx strode back into the lobby of the gun course, Jak couldn't do much more than stare at her. "Yeah, you uh... That was... Wow..."

Nyx laughed and leaned forwards onto the giant gun. "What? Does me handling a huge gun bigger than I am turn you on, Jak?"

Jak's face went red and he physically floundered. "What?? No! No! It's just that you- I mean it's cool that- I like seeing that you-"

"Calm down, Jak. Keep your pants on," Nyx chuckled as she walked past him, clapping him on the shoulder. "I know what you mean,"

Jak sighed and buried his face into his hands for a moment. Why did she have to say that? Public flirting was not his style...

"This thing's pretty amazing," Nyx said to Tess. "But I think we should definitely leave it to Jak. It slows me down too much,"

Tess laughed. "Yeah, it is pretty monsterous, isn't it?"

"Makes it perfect for Jak, don't you think?" Nyx asked, nudging Jak with her elbow. 

Jak groaned. "Do you have to do that?"

"Yeeeeaaahhh, Jak... I do," Nyx drawled, grinning at him. "C'mon, y'know I love you, right?"

Jak rolled his eyes and sighed. "'Course I do,"

Nyx smiled brightly, and handed over what she was electing to call the Gyro-Burster, to Jak. "And thus here is your reward for answering correctly,"

Jak snorted and took the huge firearm from her. "And if I answered wrong...?"

Nyx hummed, though clearly she wasn't really thinking of an answer. "I guess I'd just have to remind you why you're dating me in the first place,"

While Tess and Daxter laughed, Jak facepalmed again. "Nyx, that's not even why I'm dating you,"

Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Well clearly you wanted some..."

"Okay!" Jak announced, clearly embarassed by the direction this conversation was travelling. "Can we just? Move on, please?"

Nyx laughed and bumped Jak's shoulder. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry,"

Jak sighed in relief at Nyx backing down, and turned to Tess. "Thanks for the upgrade,"

"No problem!" Tess replied. "But you've gotta promise to protect my little baby with it! Otherwise I'm gonna have to hunt you down, and hurt you real bad!"

Jak's eyes widened as Tess glared and threatened him. Wow, she had fire, didn't she? But no sooner than it had happened, it was over, and Tess was beaming at them again. "Okay?"

Jak could only nodd, while Daxter looked at her like she was the greatest thing on the planet. "Wow! I didn't know you had so much... Rawr!" he made a cat's paw motion as he grinned at her.

Tess smiled and reached out to pet Daxter's head. "How else does a woman get by, huh? Definitely not by rolling over on command,"

"I hear that, sister," Nyx said. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but Torn's probably waiting for us. We've got some KG and Metal Head asses to kick,"

"Oh! Don't let me stop you, then!" said Tess. "Go get 'em!"

With a farewell nodd to Tess, the trio made their way out of the gun course, and back to the zoomer they'd arrived in. They sped back to the Naughty Ottsel, and headed back inside. 

Stood by the table, Torn didn't look happy about something. Which was sort of his default, wasn't it? "There you are. We've got some KG defenses we need eliminated. Super-range sniper cannons are keeping our men pinned down. You need to find those hidden cannons, and take them out. There's sure to be an enemy counter-attack when they see what you're up to, so watch out!"

The duo nodded at their assignment, and proceeded to move out. Sniper cannons didn't exactly sound pleasant, but hey, war was war. Someone had to do the crappy missions, and it might as well be them, right?

Piling back into that same zoomer, the trio of heroes started making their way to the Industrial section of Haven, which had clearly seen better days. "Wow... This place sure don't look like I remember it..." Daxter mumbled.

"Yeah... It's taken a real beating... KG assholes have done a number on it..." Nyx mumbled, staring below them at the tiny little robots that were scampering around, trying to leap up at their zoomer. They reminded her of the Metal Head stingers, and she saw them as no less annoying.

"Wonder who's leadin' those KG asswipes..." Daxter muttered, glaring over the dashboard at the robots.

Nyx didn't have to think twice about that one. "Errol. Gotta be Errol. He's obviously invested and involved in all this, and he's got the military knowledge to run something like this..."

Daxter hummed. "But didn't we already deduce that he's gone off the deep end?" 

"Doesn't mean he still can't be smart," Jak replied, pulling over by the bridge in the middle of the Industrial sector. 

Daxter scoffed as they climbed out of the zoomer, but remained quiet. Nyx and Jak drew their guns as they crept up towards the approximate locations of the sniper cannons.

"I think I see the cannons..." Nyx whispered over to Jak, motioning towards tower-like mechanisms that definitely weren't there last time she'd been in the city. Jak nodded to her, and then took the lead. 

The minute they set foot on the bridge, the tower sprung to life, honing in on their positions. "Shit!" Jak hissed. "Move! Keep moving!"

Nyx followed Jak's lead as he sprinted forwards, away from the red reticle that the cannon was projecting onto the ground. 

Diving away from the first shot, Jak took aim at the cannon, unleashing a hailstorm of Vulcan Fury ammo at it. But each bullet simply disinegrated before it hit the cannon; Absorbed by some kind of force-field. 

"Fuck..." Jak mumbled, sprinting out of the line of immediate fire again, and then hissing words into his communicator. "Torn! These things have some kind of force field!"

"Shit, I was afraid of that..." Torn mumbled in response. "Their wired into the ground, try sabotaging their conduit lines! That might take down the shields!"

Nyx nodded to Jak as he looked up at her. "You keep that thing off me, and I'll take care of those lines,"

"Got it," confirmed Jak, darting from his place to get the canon focused on him. It could only aim in one place at any given time, and hopefully he could keep it on a wild goose chase after him...

With Jak off distracting the cannon, Nyx darted for the obvious place where the circuits to said cannon were hidden. They were huge pieces of machinery, after all, the components couldn't logically be small and easy to hide. Nyx pried the box open, and started working on severing the wire connections that powered that force-field. The cannon itself was likely wired into a bigger system, one she had no idea how to tamper with. But force-fields she could do. She'd done matinence on the old ones that were now seperating the city's forces before. It was always logical to keep them on a seperate system from all your other weaponry. 

Nyx kept one eye on Jak at all times as she fumbled with the Eco-filled wires. Those cannons were powerful... And while Jak could take a lot more physical punishment than most people, she wasn't sure about giant cannon blasts...   
After hacking away at the contents of the power box, Nyx then raised her gun to fire at the cannon, hoping that she'd done it right. It became clear that she hadn't, however, when her bullets failed to reach the giant tower of a cannon. "Shit... Torn, I've completely scrambled this power box, but nothing's changed!"

"There must be other power boxes picking up the slack! You're going to have to take them all out," Torn responded. 

"Damnit..." Nyx mumbled to herself, and then shouted over to Jak. "Keep it busy! I've gotta take out the other power boxes to get that shield down!"

"No problem!" Jak shouted back, diving out of the way of another shot. 

Daxter leaned over to get Nyx in his sights. "Just hurry up! We can't keep this up forever!"

Nyx nodded, and then ran for the next power box. "I'll go as fast as I can!"

She immediately set to work dismantling the contents of the second power box, absorbing the Blue Eco within the circuits and using it to move her hands faster. The second power box was quickly laid to rest, and Nyx darted for the final one. She made quick work of that one, too, and then called over to Jak. "Try it now!"

Jak nodded, and risked standing still so he could properly aim at the cannon. He fired a quick burst of Vulcan Fury bullets at it, and then proceeded to let all hell loose when they actually made contact. 

The cannon had got a lock on Jak by now, but it was also now taking heavy fire. Just as it was about to shoot the spot where Jak stood, in collapsed in on itself, sparking and giving off mild explosions. It was a pile of rubble by the time it hit the ground, now completely useless. 

"Oh yeah!" Daxter cheered, fist-pumping into the air. "We showed that bad boy a thing or two!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Dax..." Jak warned him, regarding the remains of the cannon as if it might leap back up to bite him. 

Nyx sighed. "He's right. We've still got an unknown number of those cannons to deal with,"

Daxter sighed defeatedly as they started walking towards the next cannon, already having it in their sights. That was when they heard the robotic marching of little claws from behind them. 

They all turned, and saw that a group of the Stinger-like robots had been dispatched to take care of them. Nyx groaned. As if this mission wasn't perilous enough...


	17. One Step Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After nearly getting killed the day before while trying to take out the KG sniper cannons in the Industrial sector, Nyx and Jak are tasked with sneaking into the Metal Head city sector, taking Silas along with them for backup. While there, Jak experiences an Eco overload, and gains a new devastating power.

The booth seats at the Naughty Ottsel weren't exactly the most comfortable place that Nyx had ever slept... In fact, they were really up there in the worst of them. Even the Underground hideout had actual beds back in the day... But this was a bar they were holed up in, so they had to take what they could get. 

Upon waking up, Nyx found that Torn was either already awake, or still up from the night before. Looked like some things never changed, did they? Nyx dragged herself up, roughly rubbing at the back of her neck to try and ease the knots she'd aquired from sleeping on a glorified chair. 

On the other side of the booth was Jak, laying on his stomach with his legs hanging off the seat. How he managed to sleep like that, Nyx would never know. Then again, he was also the guy who managed to fall asleep on one of Keira's workshop tables. Which she figured had to be as comfortable as an autopsy table... Which was to say; Not comfortable at all. 

Daxter was curled up in the dip of Jak's spine, looking pretty damn comfortable. Perks of being a small ottsel; You could use your friends as pillows. 

Trying desperately to keep the leather seat from squeaking, Nyx slid out of the booth, standing up on sore legs. Which lead into sore everything. After nearly dying trying to take out those sniper cannons the day before, it really didn't help to have slept in a leather-covered booth. She did her best to stretch away the stiffness, and stumbled over to Torn's table. "Mornin',"

"Morning..." Torn replied absently, completely engrossed in his work. 

Nyx regarded him for a moment, staring judgementally. He honestly looked like a complete mess. There were bags under his eyes, his skin was paler than usual, and she was certain he's lost weight. This was what she'd honestly been afraid of; Without her and Ashelin constantly around, Torn had started neglecting himself again, in favor of doing more work. 

Nyx sighed and walked away from the table, heading over to where boxes of food rations were stocked against the wall. She sifted through them, her mind immediately beginning to inventory them out of habit. There were... A lot of pop tarts, she noticed. As well as fruit snacks, granola bars, and crackers. Not much actual food, but it didn't surprise her that finding anything more than this was hard when the whole city was in ruins. 

Nyx grabbed a few granola bars, and shoved two of them in front of Torn. "Do I even have to say it?"

Torn looked up at her, stared at her for a moment, and then sighed heavily. He'd known her almost his whole life, and by now he'd learned to not fight with her. He picked up one of the granola bars, opened it, and started eating it. 

Nyx smiled and leaned forwards on the table, opening her own bar. "So. What's on the roster today?"

Torn hummed around a mouthful of nuts and chocolate, then swallowed. "I'm thinking of sending you into the Metal Head city section... We need to do something about it..."

"What section do they have control over?" Nyx asked, speaking around a mouthful of food. She never had been very ladylike, had she...?

"What used to be the South Garden and East Bazaar..." Torn replied, bringing up a current map and pointing to it. 

Nyx hummed. "How do you propose we get in there? I imagine the Port entrance is locked down tight, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah. I was thinking you might be able to get in via the sewers... They run all throughout the city, and if we're lucky, the exit should still be acessible in there..." Torn explained. 

"And if it's not?" Nyx questioned. 

Torn grimaced and tossed the granola bar wrapped behind him. "Then we'll just have to figure out something else..."

Nyx nodded slowly, staring at the map of what Haven now looked like. It was such a wreck compared to the last time she'd seen it... "Too bad we don't have another one of those missiles. We could just blow the other Port entrance open..."

Torn shook his head. "I don't think that'll work... You haven't seen the Metal Head City, have you?"

"Nope," replied Nyx. 

"It's not pretty. I dunno what those walls are made of, but they're tough. We've tried breaking through before, but it just doesn't work," Torn stated. "That's why you're gonna go throught the sewers, try sneaking up on them,"

Nyx nodded. "And what do we do once we're in there?"

"Sabotage whatever you can find. Lay waste to the place. Let them know that they are not welcome here..." Torn replied, glaring at the map as he spoke. 

Nyx grinned. "You've come to the right team. That is definitely something we can do,"

"I know," Torn responded, offering a slight smile of his own. 

Nyx pushed the second granola bar towards Torn, and then headed off for the bathroom. "Let us know when you want us out there,"

Once in the bathroom, Nyx found herself staring into the mirror as she tried to make her hair look reasonable. She was different from the last time she'd been in Haven, too... Somehow, the shorter hair made her look older, amplifying the idea that she was indeed an adult now. Her skin was lightly tanned from the Spargan sun, and she was certain that her eyes had never looked quite so serious... Yeah, she'd changed, too... And she knew that Torn could see it. Jak probably could, too. 

Sighing, Nyx did her business and exited the bathroom. Jak had finally stirred from his sleep, and was now sitting up on the edge of the booth, rubbing at his eyes. Daxter was flopped on the table, still out like a light. 

Jak opened one eye to look at Nyx as she re-entered the main bar, raising a tired hand to her in greeting. "Morning..."

"Morning. Sleep well?" Nyx asked, striding over to Jak to start combing his hair back into place with her fingers. 

"Not really..." Jak groaned. "Chairs don't make good sleeping spaces,"

Nyx laughed softly. "Turn around,"

Jak, too tired to argue, did as he was told, turning to sit criss-cross on the booth, his back facing Nyx. 

Nyx unwound the scarf from Jak's neck, and slipped her fingers underneath the collar of his shirt. She started massaging his locked shoulders carefully, slowly getting rougher as she went. 

Jak gave a quiet sigh as she started kneading the tension out of his muscles, feeling the soreness from sleeping in a chair start to melt away. "You don't gotta do that..."

"But I want to," Nyx replied, leaning down to kiss the side of Jak's neck. "I love you, remember?"

Jak chuckled tiredly. "I love you, too,"

Nyx continued massaging Jak's shoulders, eventually moving up to his neck for a while. After a bit, she leaned down to press a few kisses to the dip of his shoulder "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Jak sighed. "You can stop, now, I'm good,"

Nyx withdrew her hands, and let Jak turn back around. She started running her hands back through his hair again, making him sigh softly. She was one of the only people who could make him do that, she realized. She was one of the only people that he'd completely relax around. Daxter was another of them, and perhaps Keira was starting to be one of them, too. But it was a small circle, and she felt important for being in it. 

"You okay?" Jak suddenly asked, staring up at Nyx. She hadn't realized she'd been staring at him with an odd look. 

Nyx gave a short, embarassed laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking. It's not important,"

"Are you sure?" Jak questioned. "You know you can tell me, right?"

Nyx chuckled softly and pressed a kiss to Jak's forehead. "It's nothing bad. Just a personal little thought. I'll tell you someday, when we're not in the middle of a war,"

Jak snorted. "I'll hold you to that,"

Nyx smiled. "I know,"

Jak glanced over at Daxter, who was completely undisturbed by being moved onto the table. "Think we should wake him?"

Nyx shrugged. "I dunno. You know he's a pain to get up. We do have a mission that's taking shape, though,"

"And what might that be?" Jak asked.

"We get to trapse through the sewers and try infiltrating the Metal Head city section!" Nyx purred, trying to make it sound exciting, instead of gross and dangerous. 

Jak chuckled slightly and stood up. "Sounds like fun,"

Nyx scoffed, heading back to the stacks of ration boxes. "Oh yeah. It'll be tons of fun,"

Jak rolled his eyes, but still managed to catch the two granola bars Nyx tossed at him. One perk of Dark Eco was that it made his reflexes better than most normal people's. Even when he'd just woken up and was definitely not completely coherant.

While Jak was busy eating the sorry excuse for breakfast that Nyx had thrown at him, said woman was busy sorting through the rations. And she didn't really look pleased with them, to say the least. "Torn, these food rations are awful,"

"Tell me something I don't know," Torn replied with a groan. "That's just about all we can find in this section of the city,"

Nyx hummed. "It would really help if we could get to the other Garden, wouldn't it...? Or even the bazaar,"

Torn looked over at her, looking confused at first, but then sympathetic. "I guess no one told you... That's all gone, now,"

Nyx turned to stare at Torn, looking horrified. "Both Garden and Bazaar sectors are gone...?"

Torn nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Onin had to flee the East Bazaar and hole up at HQ, I hear,"

Nyx breathed a sigh and forced back the spark of anger in her chest. "...They're gonna pay for this,"

"Damn right they are," Jak interjected as he located the nearest trash can to discard the granola bar wrappers. "And we're gonna be the ones to do it,"

"Sounds good to me," Nyx replied. She then turned back to the boxes of supplies, organizing them into groups and noting the things they could probably do with more of.

Eventually, Daxter stirred from his sleep, finally realizing that he'd been moved from his comfortable Jak pillow, and onto the cold table. "Jaaaaakk... It's rude to leave your best friend on a table like that..."

"Sorry, Dax," Jak chuckled as he watched the ottsel fall off the table as he attempted to cross the room to reach Jak. "It was better than waking you up,"  
Daxter scoffed and peeled himself off the floor, stumbling across the room to climb onto Jak's currently unarmored shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Wakin' up on a cold, hard table is totally better,"

"Hey, least you didn't have to sleep all night on those awful booth seats. You got to use Jak as a body pillow," Nyx snickered, tossing another granola bar towards Jak and Daxter, knowing that Jak would likely be the one to catch it before it smacked Daxter in the face. 

She was right of course, though it didn't stop Daxter from violently flinching and nearly falling off Jak's shoulder. As Jak held the granola bar towards his best friend, said ottsel glared at Nyx. "Do ya gotta throw everythin' at us?!"

"I like testing Jak's reaction times," Nyx replied, smiling smugly at him. 

Daxter narrowed his eyes as he bit into the granola bar. "Uh-huh..."

While Daxter chewed away at the granola bar, Nyx continued with her inventory. It was... A really pitiful inventory, it seriously was. She was going to have to do something about that... What, she didn't know, but something at the least. 

After a long stretch of silence, the door to the Naughty Ottsel slid open, and two distinct individuals strode in. Nyx turned to see who was entering, and then shrieked rather loudly. 

"Silas! Jinx!" and before anyone could process what was happening, Nyx was running across the bar to tackle both men in a hug. She never thought she'd be happy to see Jinx, of all people, but here she was.

"Woah! Hey, hey! What gives, darlin'?" Jinx exclaimed, nearly falling back from the force of the hug. He was definitely not expecting that one. 

After what she felt was a satisfactory hug, Nyx pulled back to beam up at the two men before her. "I've never been so happy to see you guys!"

"Nyx? Well god damn, kid, you're a sight for sore eyes, aren't you?" Silas gaped, almost not believing this was happening. "When'd you get back?"

"Yeah," Jinx drawled, taking a long drag off the cigar in his mouth. "I thought that fancy-pants Count guy kicked you and blondie out,"

Nyx scoffed and rolled her eyes, flapping a hand at them. "Like some balding old coot could keep us from this place!"

"Well, I'm glad your back. This war could use you two," Silas said, clapping Nyx on the shoulder. 

"Yeah, we don't got too many guys who're willin' to risk their necks like Jakkie-Boy," Jinx said. "How's it hangin' anyways, blondie?"

Jak grimaced a bit at Jinx's exessive use of nicknames, but managed a civil reply. "I'm... Good,"

"Good to hear. We thought you two had gone and fried in the desert, if I'm bein' honest," Jinx said, talking around the butt of his cigar.

"Hah! Like the measly sun could ever take us out!" Daxter boasted.

Nyx rolled her eyes. "We almost died out there. But we were found by the people of Spargus,"

"Spargus?" Silas questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

Nyx nodded. "It's a huge desert city somewhere out in the Wastes. A whole civilized place where people have made a living," 

"Well whaddya know? There is life outside Haven," Jinx drawled. 

"Of course there is," Daxter interjected. "There's that Kras place we trade with, ain't there?"

Jinx rolled his eyes. "I meant out there in the Wastelands,"

Daxter stuck his tongue out at the unshaven blond, and turned his head away like a bratty child. Jak shrugged his shoulder to purposely jostle the ottsel, trying to tell him to not be juevenile. 

"Listen, I'd hate to break up this little party, but we've got work to do," Torn rasped from the table, giving a serious look to the people before him. 

"Yeah, let's get down to brass tacks," Silas said, approaching the table Torn was at to observe what the Captain was working on. "What's the plan?"

Torn brought up his Haven map again, pointing to the Metal Head City. "I'm sending you, Nyx, and Jak into the sewers. Hopefully, you'll be able to reach the Metal Head City, and launch a sneak attack. Ashelin's got word of the Metal Heads having huge caches of Dark Eco that they plan to use to infect the whole city. We've gotta put a stop to it,"

"Holy shit," Nyx hissed. "That would kill... Everyone..."

"Everyone but the two of ya," Daxter corrected, sounding vaguely haunted by the idea. 

Nyx and Jak shared a concerned look for a moment that felt a bit too long. Then, Jak nodded. "Let's go take them out, then,"

"A surprise assault, huh? I'm game," Silas said, giving a grin. 

"We haven't been in those old passageways since the war broke out," Torn said. "But no scouts have reported movement down there,"

Daxter bit his lip. "Umm... That's a good thing, right?"

"I mean; No scouts have ever come back alive to tell us," Torn growled.

Daxter's eyes widened in horror. "Oh... Oh! Still givin' us the crappy missions, huh?!"

"Dark, dirty, dangerous... I'm beginning to like this war..." Jak mumbled, nodding to himself. 

Nyx laughed. "Only you could like a war, Jak," then she thumped him on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's get our gear and head out. We don't wanna give those Metal Heads anymore time to collect Dark Eco,"

Jak grinned. "I hear that,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It hadn't been too hard to get through the sewers to get into the Metal Head City, though that section of the sewers was filled to the brim with Metal Heads. Jak and Nyx knew how to deal with Metal Heads by then; They all did. 

Once inside the Metal Head City though, it became obvious that this place was a definite hazard to Silas' health. The Eco caches were easy to spot due to the Dark Eco pulsating off of them; They were likely filled to the brim with it. 

They decided to not risk anything, and had Silas stay on the walkways surrounding the edges of the sector, tasking him with taking out the small Metal Heads that populated the place. It was a simple job that didn't fit his level of battle expertise, but it was better than him being exposed to vast ammounts of Dark Eco. Nyx had all but grounded him when she told him to stay there; She wasn't risking anything.

Meanwhile, Nyx and Jak used their hoverboards to grind on the strange cables that were suspended all over the place, using them to reach the huge Dark Eco caches. They opted to not think about what those cables were made of...

Having Silas stay away from the caches turned out to be a really good idea, as they went up in a sparking explosion of Dark Eco when they were destroyed. Both Nyx and Jak found their bodies absorbing more of the Eco than they honestly would have liked... Exposure to that much Dark Eco would have definitely killed Silas. 

In total, there were six Eco caches, the final one being located right near the barrier that seperated the Metal Head City from South Town. Nyx found herself lagging behind as Jak continued forwards to destroy this one.

And perhaps that was a good thing... As Jak's body absorbed the excess Eco from the cache, it proved to be a little too much for him to logically handle. Eco sparked from his skin, and he doubled over with a groan, trying to keep the energy inside his chest. 

But it wasn't working. Slowly but surely, Jak was losing control and going over the deep end. 

Nyx spit out a low string of curses as she watched Jak start to transform. She hurried up in reaching his location, getting there at about the same time that Silas did. 

"So," Silas panted. "Should we be concerned about that?"

"Maybe," Nyx replied, her eyes locked on Jak. "He might be particularly volatile if he's transforming due to an Eco overload..."

Even Daxter had put some distence between himself and Jak, scampering over to Nyx and leaping onto her shoulder. They watched as Jak growled and fought against the transformation, though it was a battle he was clearly losing. 

Steadily, the color left Jak's hair and skin, and his nails sharpened into long black claws. Next came the long black horns. By now, Jak had collapsed onto the ground, clawing deep scratches into it as he growled through the transformation. 

Jak remained on the ground for a few moments after it was over, and then pulled himself up off the ground. His muscles spasmed with Dark Eco; Raw power just waiting to be unleashed from his body. He didn't even aknowledge the three people behind him, and instead stalked towards the thick barrier that seperated them from the Port. 

Nyx watched as Jak moved towards the barrier, wondering if he was actually going to try breaking through it... He was strong when he was like this, there was no doubt about it, but... Could he really break through whatever that barrier was made of?

Jak stood before the barrier for a few seconds, as if regarding it. Then both his hands began to glow and spark brightly with Dark Eco, and Nyx realized that he was channeling it into a condensed ball of Eco... Was that something he'd just learned to do?

The ball of Dark Eco in Jak's hands became nearly blinding as it grew, and then seemed to stabilize. Jak held it for no more than a second, before flinging it towards the barrier. 

There was an explosion of Dark Eco and barrier parts, strong enough to shake the ground below them. Nyx and Silas ducked away from the blast, shielding themselves from flying debris. 

When the dust and Dark Eco dissipated, the only thing left standing was Jak, still sparking with Dark Eco. Nyx stared at him, almost not believing that he was strong enough to do that. For the first time in a long time, she found herself slightly scared of him. 

Jak finally turned to lock eyes with Nyx, black orbs gleaming despite the dim light. He didn't look any different than he usually did, and that was enough to get Nyx walking towards him. 

Silas tried to grab her arm to stop her, but she shrugged out of the grip, still convinced that Jak wasn't a danger to her, despite what he'd just done. 

By the time she reached him, Jak was doing his best to look as calm as he could in his current state. A twitching arm reached out for Nyx, and she carefully returned the gesture, putting her hand into his. 

Jak whined quietly, the sound turning up near the end. It was clearly a question. Nyx nodded, knowing exactly what he was trying to ask. "It's okay. I promise,"

Pulling her close, Jak gave a soft growl, resting his chin on the top of her head. His body was cold and overflowing with Dark Eco, but Nyx tried to not mind it. Even though her own body was nearly brimming with the Dark stuff, she was desperately trying to keep herself in check. 

Daxter crawled from Nyx's shoulder to Jak's, nussling under Jak's ear. "You're okay, pal. That was pretty intense, but it's all cool, Jak,"

Jak was quiet for a moment, staying as still as he could with all the Dark Eco sparking through him. But eventually, he gave a soft groan, and managed to pull the Dark Eco back into it's proper place, curled inside his chest, waiting for it's next opportunity to break free. 

The effort of pulling back on so much Dark Eco left Jak panting, but he shortly pulled away to look at Nyx. "I'm sorry if I scared you,"

"I was more surprised than anything, Jak," Nyx replied. "I've never seen you do something like that before,"

"Yeah..." Jak sighed. "I dunno what that was... It just felt... Right..."

"Well, whatever it was," Silas started, slowly approaching the trio. "It got us one step closer to taking back our city,"

Jak regarded Silas for a moment, almost surprised that he wasn't appalled by the sight he'd just witnessed. Then again, this guy had known Nyx for years. She'd probably told him all about it. "I guess so. We should get back to Torn and let him know,"

Nyx nodded and started pulling Jak towards the now-open Port entrance. "Agreed. He'll probably wanna send more forces in here as soon as possible, to weed out the rest of the Metal Heads,"

"Hey, long as it ain't us, that's a great idea!" Daxter exclaimed. "This place gives me the creeps..."


	18. The Wars We Wage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Metal Heads and KG death bots both launch attacks on the Port at the same time, seeming to be working together to try taking them out. Nyx and Jak end up on the front lines, which has some serious consequences.

As Nyx and Jak slid into the booth seat opposite of where Torn sat, the first thing they noticed was that the Captain looked pretty pissed and concerned. He looked like he meant more business than usual, and they got the feeling that something had happened...

"We've got word of a new assault on the Port; They're trying to take us out once and for all," Torn growled. "The strange thing is, we're seeing movement from both the KG and Metal Head fronts. It's like they're working together!"

Daxter and Nyx shared a concerned look, while Jak continued staring at Torn, waiting for the mission he knew was coming. This wasn't gonna be pretty, was it?

"We've got to repel this assault, or we're through!" Torn said, slamming his hand down on the table. "I'd hate to do this to you... But I'm putting you on the front line... You're my go-to guys,"

Daxter fainted off Jak's shoulder at the words 'front line', and Nyx had to move quick to catch him. The ottsel recovered rather quickly, and glared over at Torn. He did not want to be on the front lines...

"Stop any KG or Metal Head units from reaching this place," Torn instructed, completely ignoring Daxter. "If we lose this one; We're history,"

Nyx and Jak turned to each other, sharing a look that said many words. This was going to be dangerous, they knew that. But there was no way she was letting them go alone. They were a team, now. And even if Jak didn't want to put her life on the line out there (And he knew that Torn didn't either...), he couldn't stop her. 

"How long do we have?" Jak finally asked, turning back to Torn. 

"Not long, maybe twenty minutes," Torn responded. "Just enough time to get to the other side of the Port to stop them before they get too far in..."

The trio were out of the booth the moment Torn had finished his sentence, grabbing their gear and heading for the door. "Then let's not keep them waiting for us," said Nyx, cocking her gun and checking her ammo.

"Good luck," Torn rasped as they marched out the door. He hated to be sending Nyx out there into the thick of it, but she'd become a good battle partner for Jak. They coordinated well together. And Torn couldn't protect her forever, after all. She was an adult now, she could handle herself.

Once outside, Nyx and Jak grabbed a zoomer, and started speeding towards the other side of the Port. There were other FL soldiers heading in the same direction, and Nyx knew that Silas was likely one of them. Perhaps even Ambra and Marcel. 

While soldiers were rushing towards the direction of the attack, civilians were rushing away, panic already engulfing them. Though perhaps it was for good reason this time around...

By the time they reached the other end of the Port, they could already see the KG forces advancing towards them. There were a lot of them...

"Looks like we're just in time..." said Jak, hopping out of the zoomer and cocking his gun. 

"Woulda been a shame if the party started without us, huh?" Nyx asked, exiting the vehicle and readying her weapon. She'd never been in a large-scale battle like this before, but she was willing to give it her all. Jak was here, and that was all the assurance she needed. 

"Well, we're the life of the party, aren't we?" Daxter asked. "I say the party don't start 'till we arrive!"

Nyx chuckled as she and Jak marched to the front of the FL troop that had assembled. At the front, they were met by Silas. "Torn says you two are leading this operation. What's the plan?"

Leading? Torn hadn't said anything about leading the repelling of this assault... "Well, I dunno about leading, but Torn said he was putting us on the front lines..." Nyx said, glancing around at all the people that just might be looking to them for leadership... That wasn't a daunting idea, not at all... "We don't exactly have much leadership skills,"

"I know you don't, kid, but you two are some of the best guys we got. So how do you think we ought to handle this?" Silas asked, gesturing to the army that was steadily marching towards them. 

Nyx was quiet for a moment. She'd never exactly made battle plans, herself... She just did whatever she had to in order to survive and win. She'd been trained by now, sure, but she didn't know how to organize a battle strategy or anything. She wasn't a leader, she realized then. And she had no idea what to say to Silas, and all the soldiers who needed guidance right then. 

That's when Jak came to her rescue, the former mute somehow knowing exactly what to say. "Try to press them back, out of this sector, and don't let them surround you. We can't let them reach the Naughty Ottsel, or we're done for. Keep moving, and stay alert. Do whatever you have to,"

Silas nodded to Jak's instructions. "You heard the man! Let's do this thing!"

Shaking off the shock of Jak stepping up into a leadership role so easily, Nyx cocked her gun as her fellow soldiers fell into line around her. This was it; Either they won this battle, or lost the war. 

As the KG bots marched forwards, ever closer to the Port, everyone waited tensely, unsure of when to strike. They were sort of looking towards Nyx and Jak for guidance in that situation, and thus Jak was the one who stepped forwards, and took the first shot. 

As soon as Jak fired, every other soldier in the troop opened fire as well, and that was approximately when all hell broke loose. The Freedom League forces rushed forwards, trying to push the KG bots back, per Jak's orders. This pushed the battle into the Industrial sector of Haven, which was still somewhat under KG control. At least the sniper cannons weren't there anymore...

Perhaps they had intended to push the KG bots back into the Industrial sector, keeping them away from the Port all-together, but that didn't happen. It didn't take long before the Freedom League forces and the KG bots were all intermixed together, creating a chaotic crowd of bullets and human yelling. 

Nyx quickly found herself separated from Jak and Daxter in the chaos, and she had no time at all to try finding them. All she could do was keep moving, stay alert, and keep shooting the KG bots. 

But it wasn't exactly that simple, either. She'd been in a fair few fights since ending up in Spargus, but it had always been with Jak and Daxter only, sometimes another Wastelander or two. Never in a huge all-out battle like this, where she was surrounded by both allies and enemies alike. 

It left her feeling out of her element and rather overwhelmed. She'd gotten through the Metal Head assault on the city back when Praxis died, but it hadn't been this bad. The battle hadn't been condensed into such a small space, and back then she'd only cared about getting to Vin, and later Keira's garage. 

This somehow felt different; She was surrounded by allies that she had to not hit, and she couldn't run away from her opponents and only take out the ones that came at her. She had to look out for her people, too. 

The sheer adrenaline caused by the entire situation was enough to cause Dark Eco to spark throughout Nyx's veins, and for once, she let it. Instead of forcing it all back into her chest, she let it rip through her veins, sparking to life at the surface of her skin. It dulled the fear and allowed her zero-in on what she needed to do; Stay alive, and keep the KG forces away from the Naughty Ottsel. 

She almost felt as if she were on auto-pilot as she let the Dark Eco wash away her inhibitions. She was acting on instinct now, and did whatever the first thing that came to mind was. Maybe it turned her fighting style into something dirty and desperate, but it worked when she couldn't keep up with everything around her. 

Try as they might to keep the battle from even reaching the Port, eventually the Freedom League forces were pushed back into it, slowly having to fall back to avoid being killed one by one. But they could still do this, couldn't they? They had Jak, they could manage this...

Nyx wasn't completely sure how much time had passed; She had completely let herself go to the haze of Dark Eco, focused only on taking out the enemy and not dying. Time almost felt like it was in fast forward and slow motion all at once. Dark Eco worked a bit like adrenaline in that regard, and maybe it was a bit of both that left Nyx's sense of time a bit scrambled. 

All she knew was that she was sore and covered in blood when she felt a bullet shoot through her left shoulder. She didn't even hear herself scream, but she was well aware of it when she hit the cold metal ground. 

She'd been shot before, and it had completely rendered her useless for a good few minutes afterwards, until she'd managed to dredge up enough Green Eco to seal the wound enough, so she wouldn't bleed out. This time was different. She felt the vivid pain for a moment, before Dark Eco surged through her body with fierce velocity, numbing her body and allowing her to roll onto her back and fire mercilessly at the KG bot that had nailed her and was trying to close in for the kill. 

Not today, robot scum.

Nyx picked herself up off the ground, well aware of the fact that her left shoulder was pretty badly damaged. She made the attempt to dredge up Green Eco to fix it, but with so much Dark Eco running through her veins, it just wasn't working. It was like all her other Eco channeling was on lockdown. So fixing her shoulder was going to have to wait until later. 

Thankfully, Dark Eco suppressed pain receptors, and allowed her to keep going. She knew it was likely bad to keep using her injured arm, because even if the Dark Eco was numbing the pain, it was still there. She was still bleeding, and the bone in her shoulder was likely shattered. 

But right then, she didn't care. All that mattered was that she kept destroying robots. They couldn't lose this fight... Not after they'd come so far!

Blood and Dark Eco roared in Nyx's ears as she kept fighting, kept moving and never stopping. Her brain almost wasn't processing everything that happened; She was tuning out everything that didn't matter. Focusing only on her objective; Eliminate the enemy.

When her objective had finally been completed, though, her body didn't immediately register it. The sounds of screaming and gunfire stopped, but for a moment longer, Nyx was looking around for something else to shoot, still in a Dark Eco fueled haze that made her want to keep fighting. 

But moments later, she realized that there was nothing left to fight. All that was there now was robot parts, dead bodies, and the soldiers who had survived. The roar and spark of Dark Eco died, and all the pain came rushing back to her. But the physical pain didn't matter. 

What mattered was that they'd lost a lot of men in this battle. She'd never seen anything like this before. The robot parts scattered around didn't faze her; They were robot parts. But there was so much blood on the ground... So many corpses of people she'd previously worked with...

Her breathing turned labored and panicked, and she scanned her eyes through the crowds of remaining soldiers, looking for that tell-tale head of green and blonde hair. He had to have made it, he had to!

When she didn't immediately find him, Dark Eco began to cloud Nyx's brain again, numbing her to the pain and washing away the panic. In it's place came the fierce desire to goddamn find Jak. He should have been easy to find amongst the other soldiers...

She started moving through the crowds, her eyes blind to everything but the colors she associated with Jak. She didn't see the blood or the bodies anymore. All that mattered was finding Jak and Daxter. 

She was so invested in her search, that when a strong hand found her shoulder, she flinched so hard that she almost lost her balance. It didn't help that it had been her injured shoulder that was grabbed. But that didn't matter very much right then, Nyx was much more interested in who had grabbed her. 

"Jak!" she breathed out, dragging him in for a hug. She wanted to say something else, but her voice wouldn't work. That was another one of those drawbacks to Dark Eco. The part of your brain that comes up with words to say? It doesn't work quite right.

One of Jak's hands came up to rest on Nyx's head, the other bracing her back. He could feel the Dark Eco crackling in her muscles, and he saw how dark her eyes were before she'd brought him into the tightest hug he'd ever felt.

"I'm okay," Jak whispered to her. "We're all okay,"

Nyx kept her face buried in Jak's chest, not caring about the blood that was all over him. She felt Daxter climb onto her shoulder, though he said nothing. Had she looked up, she would have seen him staring around at all the dead bodies. 

Eventually, Nyx looked up to stare into Jak's eyes. He looked calm, probably calmer than he actually felt. Nyx nodded at him, and forced herself to form words. "Are you hurt?"

"Not too bad," Jak replied. "But you're shot,"

Nyx brought a hand up to her shoulder, and sighed. "Yeah... Got nailed from behind..."

Jak slowly reached up towards the wound, his fingers starting to glow green. "Will you let me fix it?"

Nyx nodded slowly, and moved her hand so that Jak could brush his cold fingers over the wound. She felt the Green Eco move through her veins and begin pulling the flesh and bone back together, into their proper places. She would have done it herself, she had the Eco... But there was still too much Dark Eco pulsing through her, the rest of her channeling still felt numb and inaccessible.

She honestly still didn't exactly feel the pain of her current wound. She knew it was there and she felt it fading, but it wasn't like the first time she'd been shot. The whole world had seemed to stop then, and all she could feel was the immense pain.

"There," Jak mumbled as he pulled his hand away. The green glow faded, as did the cool feeling of Green Eco in Nyx's veins. She was left with just the numb void of Dark Eco.

Nyx nodded numbly. "Thanks,"

Jak studied her for a moment, seeing how she clearly wasn't coming down from her Dark Eco high. She was still in fight mode, and he wasn't sure how to bring her down. She usually came down on her own, but her eyes were still so dark and slightly purple... She definitely wasn't coming down at all...

Though perhaps that turned out to be a good thing. Jak was just about to say something, when his communicator jumped to life, Torn's voice booming from it. "Jak! We've got Metal Heads coming from the other side of the Port! I've already got a team over there, but they need help! The fight is getting to close to this place!"

"Got it. We're on our way," Jak replied, and then looked around at all the soldiers who were still alive. "The Metal Heads are pressing an attack from the other side of the Port! We have to stop them!"

And without another word, Jak was sprinting towards the zoomer they'd arrived in, with Nyx right on his heels. They leaped in, started the engine, and sped off towards the other end of the Port. Jak pushed the poor zoomer as fast as it could go, weaving through the Port expertly. 

There was chaos at the other end of the Port when they arrived. Jak and Nyx shared a look as they brought the zoomer to a halt. It only lasted a moment, though Jak took an extra moment to give Daxter a stern look before flicking his eyes back to Nyx. Daxter nodded at the clear request; Stay with her. 

With Jak and Nyx at the head of the reinforcements, they charged into battle yet again, this time fighting vicious Metal Heads. The forces ranged from small, to average human sized, which seemed to be the baseline for a Metal Head assault. It was a morbid kind of familiar for some of the Freedom League forces. 

Just like before, all the details blurred together for Nyx as they became more than a few seconds old, the only thing that truly mattered being the death of every Metal Head she laid eyes on. 

Nyx didn't even register the fact that Daxter was still on her shoulder, until he started giving her pointers about what was going on in places she wasn't looking. But even then, she didn't exactly register his complete presence on her shoulder. She was so used to him sometimes being there, that it didn't feel wrong or noteworthy to have him there. Even as he shrieked in her ear that there was a Metal Head behind her, she still didn't completely realize that Daxter was there. Dark Eco let her hear and see better, but it also allowed her to tune out things that just weren't important at the time. It somehow made her more aware, and also less aware at the same time. It never made sense, really. 

Upon hearing Daxter's shriek, Nyx spun on her heels to face the Metal Head that was behind her, but found that she was a bit too late. As she was knocked to the ground, she felt the sharp claws dig into her side, though the pain was definitely numbed by Dark Eco. 

While she hadn't been acutely aware of Daxter's presence beforehand, she was vividly aware of it when he tumbled off her shoulder, and she could no longer locate him. A fresh surge of Dark Eco pulsed through her veins, making her completely forget about the gashes in her side. Using her gun to shove the Metal Head off her, Nyx leaped back to her feet and was quick to put a round of bullets into the offending Metal Head's skull. 

She spun around after this, looking for a small bundle of orange fur on the ground. She spotted him at the same moment that he came scampering over to her, and leaped back onto her shoulder. A hand darted up to hold him there, making sure he was okay. 

"I'm okay, Nyx! It's all cool, I've had worse," Daxter assured her, gently shooing her hand away from him. "Ya gotta focus! They're still everywhere!"

Nyx snorted in a way that was almost a growl, and dove back into the battle. She was vaguely aware of the sticky mess that her side had become, but she didn't feel the pain. But she could feel Dark Eco pouring out of the wound along with her blood, soaking her clothes and dripping down her leg. She'd had a wound similar to this before, and she could imagine how much it was going to hurt when the Dark Eco ran out. 

Hopefully, that wouldn't happen before this battle was over. If she ran out before then, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep fighting... She couldn't take pain the way Jak could. He was permanently semi-numb to pain, thanks to his advanced Dark Eco channeling.

All the sounds of the battle seemed to blur together into a cacophony of chaos, but when everything suddenly went quiet again, Nyx was acutely aware of it. It took her a moment to process the fact, but she soon realized that it was over. The Metal Heads were gone, they'd made it through the second part of this battle. 

A shaky sigh escaped Nyx's lips as she stared around. The Metal Head gore strewn about didn't bother her anymore, she'd seen sights just like this before. But once again, it was the bodies of her comrades that shook her.

This time was perhaps worse, though. The bodies that were at the other side of the Port hadn't been this mangled. They'd been mostly shot to death, not torn into little pieces the way the Metal Heads had done. 

Nyx swallowed hard, wondering if she knew any of the people who'd died today. Had Silas been one of them? She couldn't tell when they all wore the same armor. But for her own sanity, she shoved that thought back into a deep hole. 

Jak's voice brought Nyx slightly away from the haze she was in, as she saw him limping towards her. His communicator was to his lips, and he was rasping out words to Torn. "Is it over, Torn? We've taken heavy casualties over here,"

Nyx's felt hyper-focused on Jak and that communicator as they waited for Torn's reply. "I hate to say it, but it's not over, Jak. There's another wave coming from the KG bots... Looks like they've called in the big boys; Blast Bots. You've got some time, though. How many of you are left?"

"...Less than half..." Jak replied solemnly, glancing around at all the bodies. 

"Fuck..." Torn hissed. "Think you can do this?"

Jak looked up at Nyx, and then around at the remaining soldiers, most of which were injured. For a moment, he looked doubtful, but then his face hardened, and his eyes turned dark. "Yeah. We've got this,"

"Uhhh... Jak...?" Daxter questioned slowly. "I uh. I dunno if we 'got this'... Fuckin' look at her..." 

Jak's eyes trailed along Nyx's body, finally seeing the shredded mess that was her side. "Shit," he cursed, collapsing his gun so he could grab her with both hands. He would have been questioning how she was still standing up straight, but the constant darkness of her eyes told him why. 

Jak pulled up the corner of her shirt, examining just how bad it was. It was worse than when they'd been caught by Marauders in the remote Wastelands... Metal Heads were vicious like that... He glanced up at her, noticing how tense and dazed she was. "You need to pull back, Nyx... Just for a moment, please..."

Nyx looked to him as he asked her to try stopping the flow of Dark Eco through her veins, but... She wasn't sure if she could. It wasn't over yet... But she tried, she tried yanking back on the sparking tendrils that wrapped around every muscle in her body. Her instinct fought against her, because she knew that she wasn't yet done. But she fought past it, shoving the crackling energy back into it's cold prison in her chest. 

She then proceeded to tip forwards, her vision blurring, then completely going black. She was aware of Jak catching her as she fell, and Daxter yelling curses, but beyond that, there was nothing else to be aware of.


	19. Not Going Down Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx and Jak make their way back to Spargus, where they defend it's front gates from vicious Marauder attacks. They then accompany Sig into a nest of Metal-Pedes, and take them out.

Consciousness came back to her slowly, dribbling in from the deepest corners of her mind. Slowly but surely, she became aware of existing again, though her mind was still caught in the comfortable void of sleep. But she felt like she ought to wake up, for some reason. There was something that needed her attention, right...?

But what was it?

Her hearing eventually started to come back, sounds slowly seeping into her brain for analysis. There was... Some shuffling. Other people were around, that's what that meant, right?

Even if she could hear and was damn well aware of it, it didn't feel quite real. She wasn't quite awake yet. But something in the back of her mind told her that she needed to be awake. That there was something she needed to do, something she'd left unfinished. 

But for the life of her, she couldn't remember what. 

It kept chewing at the very corners of her mind as her awareness of her surroundings and existence continued to be vague. Where even was she? She couldn't even figure that much out. 

She'd been... With Jak, hadn't she? Yes, she'd been with Jak and Daxter, and they'd been fighting off Metal Heads... She'd been hurt... And there were Blast Bots on the way...

That was it. That was the thing that was so important. The Port had been under attack! They needed her! The shock of Dark Eco through her veins finally brought her back around, causing her to jerk up and scramble towards the first sound she heard. 

She found herself falling off the booth seat in the Naughty Ottsel, landing in an undignified heap on the floor. She was dazed for a moment, before hands were dragging her off the floor and back onto the booth. 

Her mind felt slow as her vision focused on the person who had dragged her off the floor. It took a moment, but eventually Jak's face came into focus. "Jak...?"

"Hey," Jak rasped, reaching up to place a cold palm against her cheek. "You okay?"

"I... I dunno..." Nyx mumbled. Her head still felt all kinds of wrong; Foggy. The brief spark of Dark Eco was gone now, leaving her feeling like she'd been hit by an air train.

Jak stared at her for a moment, looking a complete wreck himself. "You lost a lot of blood. I patched you up, but you need time to rest..."

Nyx spent a few moments just blinking at him, and then nodded. "What about you...?"

"I'm fine," Jak said, trying to sound convincing. But there was pain behind his voice, and she could hear it, even in her dazed and unfocused state. 

Nyx looked him over, trying to get her mind to focus on any injuries he might have. But she just couldn't seem to do it. He was right; She'd lost too much blood, she couldn't focus like this. So she turned to plan B. "Dax... How bad...?"

Within a few moments, the orange ottsel was perched upon her shoulder, giving her a sit rep. "Well, let's see. Pretty sure one of his ribs are cracked or broken or somethin'... He got shot in the leg... Aaaannnddd generally just took a huge beating..."

Even as her vision swam, Nyx tried to glare at Jak. "And you say that you're fine...?"

"It's no big deal," Jak insisted, though his voice wasn't a strong as he wanted it to be. 

Nyx glared at him for a moment more. "Which side, Dax?"

"Uhh... His right..." Daxter replied slowly.

Nyx moved a shaky hand to place it against Jak's side, trying to pull Green Eco from her reserves. She was so out of it that her body didn't want to cooperate, but she tried hard to focus on that part of her. 

Jak's hand found her wrist, and held firmly. "You don't have to-"

"You can't keep fighting with a broken rib!" Nyx hissed. "If it gets worse, it could puncture your lungs! Let me fucking do this!"

Though her voice wobbled and was painfully weak, and she couldn't even keep herself from wobbling while she was sitting, she was very clearly pissed and determined. Jak slowly let his hand fall away from her wrist, letting her try mending the cracked bone.

It took longer than it should have, as Nyx's Eco channeling wavered in and out. But she got it done, eventually. She pulled her now-shaking hand back, and looked up at Jak. "There. Feel better now?"

Jak nodded and sighed. "Yeah... Thanks..."

Nyx nodded, and reached up to gently run her fingers over Daxter's back. He nussled under her ear, making a quiet purring sound. 

"Where's Torn...?" Nyx asked, her voice not much more than breath. If the Captain had been there, he surely would have said something by now, right?"

"He's... Tallying up the casualties..." Jak mumbled. "He'll be back soon..."

The casualties... The number of people they'd lost that day... The people who'd died. "Silas... Did he make it...?" Nyx breathed out, dreading the answer that may very well have come.

Jak nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. A little banged up, but he made it,"

Nyx sighed in relief and nodded. "Were Ambra and Marcel out there with us...?"

"Yeah, but they're alright, too. Saw them on my way back," Jak replied. 

It was a small comfort to know that they'd made it, but at least it was something. Nyx nodded and rubbed at her eyes, trying to focus them. The whole world felt like it was fading out, now. All she could focus on was Jak's voice, and the warm presence of Daxter on her shoulder. And even those were starting to fade away. 

When she started to tip forwards, Jak caught her. "Woah, okay... You need to get some more rest..."

"No..." Nyx mumbled. "No, I'm fine..."

"Now look who's being stubborn..." Jak mumbled, already pushing Nyx back down onto the booth. 

She wanted to fight, and tried mumbling out a retort, but she couldn't even remember what she'd tried to say. The next thing she knew, she was laying back down, and Daxter was curled up in her arms. The rest of the world faded out pretty quickly after that. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe you let me sleep that long..." Nyx remarked, pulling on her now-clean gloves.

"You needed it," Jak responded with a shrug, loading his gun with a fresh ammo clip.

Nyx sighed. "Yeah, but Damas needs us for something. We shouldn't keep him waiting,"

"He knew where we were going, he'll understand if we couldn't come back right when he called," Jak insisted. 

Nyx hummed quietly, not completely convinced. "Yeah, I guess... I'm surprised he okayed us leaving in the first place... His introduction to us implied that he owned us now..."

"He's just trying to be a good leader, not appear weak," said Jak. "I don't think he meant to be harsh or unfair,"

Nyx snorted and scoffed. "What about in the arena? What if Sig had actually shot us because Damas was trying to look tough in front of us people instead of admitting that a mistake had been made? I understand doing things to keep respect, but there's a line that's gotta be drawn, y'know?"

Jak sighed. He had to give her that one. "Yeah, I know. But I understand where Damas is coming from, he's just trying to keep his city together,"

"Yeah..." Nyx mumbled. "That, I can understand..."

"C'mon," Jak said as Daxter leaped up onto his place atop Jak's shoulder. "Torn said we should stop by the gun course to see Tess before we left. Sounds like she's got a new toy for us,"

Nyx chuckled as she followed Jak towards the door. "New toys are always fun. Can never have enough firepower,"

"'Specially not these days..." Daxter mumbled, looking around at the battle-torn Port. "Maaannn... This place took a beatin'..."

Nyx sighed and tried to not focus on that. "Yeah. It really did..."

Daxter glanced over at her, hearing the tension in her voice. Whoops, he'd said the wrong thing, hadn't he? Okay, okay, he could fix this. "Sooo uh. Whaddya think Tess has for us this time? A rocket launcher? A flashbomb?? Ooh, maybe a harpoon gun!"

Jak chuckled and reached up to pat Daxter's head as he veered off towards a parked zoomer. "We'll find out when we get there, Dax,"

"A rocket launcher would be cool, though, I gotta admit," Nyx mused as she hopped into the passenger's seat. 

"Wouldn't it?!" Daxter exclaimed, leaping over to Nyx's shoulder from Jak's. "I mean, ya kinda can't use it close range 'cause ya might blow yourself up, but like! Just imagine shootin' that baby off! Just fwoooooo and then bam!" to accompany this statement, the ottsel gave many exaggerated hand gestures as Jak put the vehicle into first and started driving.

"Yeah, that'd definitely be cool," Nyx agreed. "We could probably use something like that on New Year's for fireworks, too,"

Daxter laughed and leaned in to stage whisper into Nyx's ear. "I don't think we should trust you-know-who with that kinda thing..."

"I heard that," Jak said, trying hard to not grin at the ridiculous pair in the passenger's seat. He almost couldn't remember a time when they didn't do this sort of thing, though. Nyx and Daxter rolled off each other almost as well as he and Daxter did. He wasn't sure how he ended up getting this lucky. 

Nyx and Daxter laughed at him, and Nyx reached over to playfully shove him. "C'mon, Jak. Even you've gotta admit it; You're reckless and you love destruction too much,"

Jak snorted. "If you say so,"

Daxter made a loud 'pfft' sound in response to that. "Ya know we're right! Man, ya shoulda seen your face back at the Metal Head nest! When we found Mar's old gun and ya realized that's what the stone was for! Ya had the most devilish grin I've ever seen on your face!"

"Oooh, man, I'm sorry I missed that," Nyx laughed. "Then again, I do get to see that devilish smirk a lot... So maybe it's not too big a loss..."

"Nah, nah. Ya shoulda seen it! He was so excited to be using some huge gun to blow shit up!" Daxter insisted. 

"You seemed pretty excited about it, too," Jak remarked, throwing a slight grin towards Daxter. "You like blowing shit up just as much as I do,"

"Yeah, but at least I admit it," Daxter replied without missing a beat. 

Jak rolled his eyes and brought the zoomer to a stop outside of the gun course. All passengers dismounted, and headed inside. Tess was crouched by her workbench, and Daxter rushed across the room on nimble ottsel paws to catch her in a surprise hug. 

"Daxter!" Tess exclaimed, turning to grab the ottsel and drag him into a proper hug. "My hero!"

"This city is too dangerous..." Tess continued, setting Daxter beside her. "We need our own little place in the country... A little pink house with a white picket fence... And a fireplace! And a big four-poster bed, for me. And a little ottsel run on the side of the house for you!"

At the mention of a 'little pink house', Daxter looked absolutely horrified. Pink was not his color... And cute little houses were not his thing, either. But before Tess could notice the displeasure, Daxter shook it off. "Aww, are you worried about me, my little Tessie-Poo?"

"Of course, my itty-bitty whisker-puss!" Tess cooed, scratching underneath Daxter's chin and making him melt. 

Jak and Nyx had been watching this exchange with second-hand embarrassment, and Jak finally decided that he'd had a little more than enough. "Oh, please. Will you two take it outside?"

"Ya need a hug, Jak?" Daxter asked, holding his arms out towards his best pal. "'Cause we got plenty to go around!"

Jak was going to say something to that, but then there was a hand on his shoulder, dragging him around to face it's owner and... "Aw, c'mon, Jak. Don't tell me the big bad hero is afraid of a little affection,"

"Nyx," Jak sighed with exasperation. She was only doing this to mess with him, and he knew it. She wasn't a public-flirting kind of person. But damn did she love to tease him when the opportunity arose. 

Nyx laughed and leaned forward to press a kiss to Jak's cheek, making his coppery skin turn red. "Cut them some slack, okay? Not everyone is so subtle like we are,"

"That was anything but subtle..." Jak mumbled, making an attempt to actually wipe the blush off his face. 

Nyx grinned at him, gave him a slight nudge, and then turned to Tess. "So. I hear you've got some new toys for us,"

"Sure do! Rumor is that you guys are the only hope we've got to reach the catacombs! I've programmed the gun course to simulate some of the new enemy tactics. Wanna try it out?" Tess exclaimed, walking towards one of course doors and pointing towards it. 

Jak and Nyx looked to each other, and then grinned. "Let's do it," Jak purred. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay..." Nyx sighed, hopping out of the buggie they'd just drove in on. "Everyone in one piece?"

"Yeah," Jak said decidedly, brushing stray dirt from his shirt. "No major wounds here," 

Marauders had been a huge pain in the asses of Spargus' people for a long time, according to Damas, but today was the first time they'd actually dared to launch a full-frontal assault on them. 

And they likely wouldn't be brave enough to ever do it again, considering that two warriors and an ottsel took out their entire army before they even got through the front gates. Talk about humiliating.

The gates were a little damaged from the unexpected catapults the Marauders showed up with, but the damage to the Marauder forces had been much worse. After all, there were a lot of dead Marauders in front of the Spargus gates, now... 

"You think that was an attempted payback for destroying their stronghold yesterday?" Nyx asked, folding up her morph gun and strapping it to her back again.

"Probably," Jak replied, not too fazed by the giant battle they'd just gone through. He motioned for Nyx to follow him back into Spargus, heading for the inner doors. 

Nyx followed Jak back into Spargus, where the streets were hauntingly empty. All the people had fled to pre-designated hiding spots when the assault was announced, and it seemed like they were still there. It felt strange to be walking through the empty city as they headed for Damas' throne room. 

The Spargan King himself was not hiding when they reached his throne, instead sitting on it like a large-scale assault hadn't just been launched on his city. 

"I don't think the Marauders are going to be bothering us anytime soon," Jak said as he approached the throne. "We're gonna need a clean up crew outside, though,"

Damas nodded, looking vaguely proud. "You have done well. I am glad that none of our people were lost today. How much damage did the gates take?"

Nyx and Jak looked to each other, trying to find the right words to describe the damage. "They closed when we came back in?" Nyx offered. "They look... Kinda banged up, but not... Too bad, I guess?"

"I will send Cece to examine them. Thank you, you have done my city a great service today," Damas said. "I know that your primary allegiance is with Haven City, but I am glad to also have you on my side,"

Jak and Nyx nodded to the Spargan King, unsure of exactly what to say to him. He wasn't wrong. Nyx's allegiance would always be to her home, and Jak would side with her until Hell froze over. But they both did have to admit... The desert city was starting to feel like a second home to them. 

"Sig has discovered more Metal Heads not too far from here," Damas stated, clearly not expecting a reply from them. "I want you to meet him at their location, and take them out,"

Nyx and Jak nodded, and then headed back for the elevator down. No moment's reprieve, it seemed. They made their way back to the garage, piled into their vehicle, and pulled out of the garage. 

Jak navigated the vehicle around the remains of Marauders and their vehicles, and heading towards the new GPS marker that detailed Sig's location. 

"Soo," Nyx drawled as they sped through the barren desert. "This Plasmite RPG close enough to a rocket launcher for you, Dax?"

"Oh yeah!" Daxter exclaimed. "Jak! Jak, when do I get to fire this bad boy?"

Jak chuckled at Daxter's excitement. "When I'm not driving,"

"I'm holdin' ya to that," Daxter said, giving Jak a stern look. "'Cause that puppy looks like a ton of fun!"

Nyx snorted and pat Daxter's head. "You'll get your turn, Dax,"

"I better!" Daxter retorted. "I can't let the two of ya have all the fun, now can I?"

"We wouldn't dream of hogging all the fun, Dax," Nyx assured him.

Daxter crossed his arms and gave a smug look of satisfaction. "Good,"

Jak took a right, and Sig's buggie came into view in the distance. Not too long after, and they were pulling up next to him. 

"There you are," said Sig, as the trio climbed out of their vehicle. "I was beginning to think you'd chickened out. I saw an eco crystal in this place, and it's yours if you want it. Trouble is, Metal Heads have been spotted here, en mass. But we wouldn't want those nasty boys to just move back in here without our welcoming party, would we?"

The Haven trio shared a series of grins, before boarding Sig's car. "Let's go give 'em a big surprise," Sig purred as he started the engine, once all passengers were inside. 

"Y'know," Nyx said, as they drove off into the Metal Head nest. "We just double-handedly defended the Spargus gates... Where the hell were you?"

"I was out here, and Damas thought you cherries could handle it. Hope you're not offended," Sig replied.

Nyx sighed. "Not offended. Maybe a bit annoyed, but not offended,"

Jak chuckled and bumped Nyx's shoulder. "We handled our own just fine, didn't we?"

"Yeah, but why is it that people seem to need us to do all the hard stuff? Defend the front gates, defend the Naughty Ottsel, blow stuff up, y'know... Are we just that good?"

"'Course we are!" Daxter exclaimed. "We're the best at what we do, of course everyone wants us to do their dirty work!"

Nyx hummed and rolled her eyes. "Do you ever wish you weren't good at this?"

"...Sometimes..." Daxter said hesitantly. "But if I wasn't, then I wouldn't be gettin' all the ladies, y'know,"

Jak laughed. "Well, you don't have all of them,"

"Okay, okay, maybe not aaaalll of 'em, but most of 'em!" Daxter amended. "I got Tess, at the least!"

Nyx snorted. "No one's debating the fact that she's smitten with you, Dax,"

Daxter gave a smug grin, and crossed his arms. Yeah, of course Tess was smitten with him. He was Orange Lightning for Precursor's sake!

"Alright, chilli peppers, enough yabba. You gotta keep sharp in here. One of you get on that gun," Sig interrupted, giving orders like it was natural to him. 

Jak wasted no time in climbing to the top of the car, and in front of the gun controls. "I got it,"

"Good. Nyx, you take care of any little creepy-crawlies that try coming at us, we clear?" Sig questioned. 

Nyx nodded and readied her gun. "Got you,"

"Let's do this," Sig purred as they reached the main cavern. 

Immediately upon entering, they spotted a giant Metal-Pede crawling about, currently minding it's own business. "Oh boy..." Nyx mumbled. Big Metal Heads were always an issue...

Sig and Jak didn't seem to have many problems with it, as Sig wasted no time speeding into the cavern, and Jak opened fire the second he had a clear shot. 

The Metal Head screeched with aggravation, and promptly began firing back at them. Sig swerved to avoid them, and Jak kept his crosshairs trained on the huge beast. Meanwhile, small pod spiders started swarming their vehicle, and Nyx went to work using her blaster to try and shoot as many of them as she could. 

Like most of the bigger Metal Heads, the Metal-Pedes had some pretty thick armor, making them a tough enemy to face. Nyx silently thanked her lucky stars that none of these awful creatures had showed up at the Port...

It took a lot of bullets, but eventually the Metal-Pede went down, it's skull gem popping out and falling down to the ground. "Oh yeah! These bad boys don't stand a chance against us!" Sig cheered. 

Their victory was pretty short-lived, as another Metal-Pede shortly burst out of the ground, shooting a few shots off at the large armored car. Sig slammed the gas and swerved out of the way, just barely doing so in time. Jak didn't miss a beat, and started shooting rapid-fire at their new opponent. 

Nyx was still shooting at the pod spiders that were trying to swarm them and chew at their tires, and she almost couldn't keep track of what was happening with the Metal-Pede. But the sounds of angry shrieking and gunfire were enough to let her know what was going on. 

After taking enough bullets to take out an army, the second Metal-Pede went down, and a third one shortly burst forth from underneath the ground. These things definitely weren't in short supply, were they?

Taking out the third one was just the same as the first two, and though it took just as many bullets, it was no harder than the previous two. The next Metal-Pede that dared to rear it's ugly head went down just the same as his comrades, and so on, and so forth. 

In total, there had been six Metal-Pedes in the nest, and each fell to the might of the turret that Jak was firing. It hadn't been any kind of easy, but that was familiar by now. Nothing was easy out in the Wastelands. Nothing was easy in Haven, either. 

"Yeah, baby!" Sig cheered. "I love the smell of burned Metal Heads! This is good practice for when the shit hits the fan. Trust me, it's coming,"

"Well, that's kinda obvious," Nyx mumbled. "There's that giant glowing 'day-star' thing up there... That can't be a good thing, y'know,"

Jak hummed. "Yeah. I get the feeling we're gonna have to deal with that sooner or later... Veger seems to know something about it, and we're going to have to take care of him at some point..."

"I still don't get why you cherries keep fighting for that city. Haven folk are a bunch of weaklings, don't you know that?" said Sig. 

Nyx stared at Sig for a moment, and Jak knew exactly what was coming before she opened her mouth. "Excuse me? We've survived the tyranny of a horrible Baron, overthrown said Baron, survived a giant Metal Head attack, and are currently fighting off both Metal Heads and mechanized death bots. And we're still kicking. Hard. What have you Spargans done? Made walls to keep out the sand?"

"Nyx," Jak hissed firmly. She was right to defend her people, but he didn't want her starting a fight she couldn't finish. 

"What? Maybe the Haven folk he knew were weak, but we aren't! The Freedom League is strong, and we're gonna win this thing!" Nyx insisted. At least she wasn't spitting mad, just offended and defensive. Daxter cautiously crawled onto her shoulder, trying to tell her to chill without actually having to say it. 

Sig sighed. "Can't say I've properly met any of your military friends, but you're right. The Havenites I knew were weak. You two knew Krew and his lackeys," 

"I wouldn't say that Krew was completely weak," Nyx mused. "He knew how to manipulate people to get what he wanted. That takes some skill and gumption,"

Sig scoffed. "If you say so. The way I saw it, he was a lazy cheapskate who wanted everyone else to do his work for him,"

"You're not wrong," Jak agreed. "But a lot of Havenites are resourceful and strong. We repelled a giant Metal Head and KG death bot assault the other day,"

"Lost a lot of guys... But we made it through," Nyx mumbled. 

"Well, hopefully you Haven folk won't end up at the bottom of the pile when it's all said and done," Sig said. "'Cause it's gonna be a damn big pile,"

Nyx, Jak, and Daxter all looked to each other briefly, sharing words that needed no saying. Jak then gave a cocky smirk. "Don't worry, we don't intend to go down easy,"


	20. Send Him Packing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After running some missions in Spargus, Jak and Nyx return to Haven City, and finally break through the New Haven border to link back up with Freedom HQ. The HQ is promptly attacked, and Jak and Nyx head out to stop the assault.

"So, I hear you three got to go back to Haven?"

"Illegally, but yes," Nyx replied, counting up her current ammo.

Cece hummed, pushing pink hair away from her face as she worked on the buggie that Jak and Nyx often used. "I don't think anyone who's come here has ever got to go back to Haven before. You don't seem super excited to have gone back,"

Nyx chuckled. "Trust me, I'm plenty excited. Haven's my home. Maybe I doubted it for a while, but Jak promised me we'd get back eventually,"

"Men lie a lot, don't you know that?" Cece asked, looking up at Nyx.

"Yeah. But not Jak. If Jak says something, he means it," Nyx replied. "He's not like other guys,"

Cece laughed. "You know how many times I've heard that? A lot. But I do guess he's different from other guys, just based on principle,"

"Any other guys you know channel Dark Eco?" Nyx asked, laughing slightly.

"Nope," Cece replied with a chuckle. "Dunno if that makes him more honest, but Damas seems to think it makes you both useful,"

Nyx shrugged. "Me? Maybe not so much. But Jak, definitely. I've seen him do some pretty intense things,"

"Is it true that he killed the leader of the Metal Heads? That's a rumor that's been floating around for a while now," Cece questioned.

Nyx nodded. "Yep. His name was Kor. His head is still mounted in the Naughty Ottsel. Maybe one day I'll get to show you,"

Cece hummed. "That'd be pretty cool to see. I've seen some impressive Metal Head trophies, but their leader must've been huge,"

"Oh yeah," Nyx drawled. "He was massive,"

"And one five foot-eight teenager took him down?" Cece asked, almost not truly wanting to believe it.

Nyx snickered. "One five foot-eight teenager with an arsenal of guns and a Dark alter ego, yes,"

Cece shook her head. "You two are definitely the most exotic people we've got in Spargus. But I gotta say that I like you guys. You're interesting,"

"Thanks, we do try," Nyx laughed. 

"Daxter sure tries, doesn't he? Everyone in Spargus knows by now that everything he says is bullshit," said Cece.  
Nyx laughed, though she didn't exactly want to. "He... Does have the tendency to tell tall-tales on occasion... He means well, though,"

"It's definitely funny. Last night he told a story about how he took down twenty Metal Heads with one leg tied to his tail," Cece smirked. 

"Yeah, I've heard that one before," Nyx responded. "Have you heard about the one where he karate-chops a Metal Head in half?"

Cece chuckled. "Yep. Heard that one from Jared," 

"Wait 'till you hear him say that he's the one who took Kor down," Nyx said, laughing slightly. "He's so full of himself, but he's honestly a sweetheart,"

"Most people seem to think he's annoying," Cece countered. "I think Kleiver wants to eat him,"

Nyx hissed in through her teeth. "Yeeeaahhh... We know. He kinda tried to once. Or threatened to, at least,"

"He's not the easiest guy to get along with, I'll tell you that. Can't believe he actually did business with Metal Heads... He usually hates them..." Cece mused, setting aside her tools for a moment.

Nyx hummed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did it just to make life harder for me and Jak..."

Cece snickered softly. "Yeah, I wouldn't put it past him. He's a bit of an ass, sometimes. Though I'll bet that the Metal Heads paid him pretty good for that artifact you wanted,"

"Probably, yeah. I get the feeling that whoever's leading them is definitely trying to stop me and Jak from doing something very important in Haven..." Nyx mumbled, pursing her lips and staring down at her gun. She knew it was very likely Errol... They'd already realized that he'd been the one on the communicator they'd found with one of the huge Metal Heads they'd taken down many months ago. That was likely why the Metal Heads and KG bots were seemingly working together. Errol was leading them both. 

But Cece didn't need to know all that. She wasn't invested in Haven's war at all.

"Seems like the whole world is out to get you guys," Cece mused, wiping her hands on a rag and then leaning against the buggie she'd just fixed. 

Nyx nodded and sighed. "Yeah, it would definitely seem that way," Though she definitely knew two people in particular who were after them...

"Well. Your buggie's fixed now, try not to bang it up so badly next time," Cece said, motioning to the vehicle.

"Thanks, Cece. We're heading back to Haven soon as Jak shows up, and I'm not sure when we'll be back, so you won't have to worry about it for a while," Nyx responded. 

"Back to the home turf, huh? I hear there's a nasty war going on over there," Cece hummed.

Nyx nodded. "Yeah, a real nasty one. Lost a bunch of men last week. But according to our Captain, we've got a way back to our HQ now, just gotta physically go do it,"

"Lemme guess," Cece drawled. "It's gonna be dangerous?"

"Yeah, probably," Nyx replied. "I'm getting used to that being a default in our lives by now,"

Cece laughed as the inner garage doors opened. "It'd be boring without all the action, though, wouldn't it?"

"What would be boring without action?" Daxter interrupted, as he and Jak strode towards the two women.

"Life," Nyx replied simply. 

"Oh," said Daxter. "Yeah, life would be pretty boring if the world wasn't always ending and needing us to go do dangerous shit. But then again, if the world wasn't always ending, I might have more time with a certain blonde lady..."

Jak and Nyx chuckled, but didn't say anything to that, letting Daxter go off into his own world of fantasies. "You ready, Jak?" Nyx settled on asking. "Air train should be here any moment,"

Jak nodded. "Yup. Damas knows we're leaving, he'll call if there's any huge emergency,"

Nyx scoffed softly. "He got along just fine without us, he can do a week or so while we sort things out with HQ,"

"That's exactly what he told me," Jak laughed. 

Outside, there was the sound of an air train landing, and moments later, Jak's communicator burst to life. "This is Lieutenant Farnsway, driving air train A-385. I've just touched down outside the Spargus gates. Jak, do you copy?"

"Yeah, I copy. We'll be there in a moment," Jak replied into the communicator, then shoved it back into his bag. "Well, guess we better get going. Torn's waiting for us with some huge mission, isn't he?"

Nyx hummed an affirmative. "Says he's found us a way back to HQ, that sounds pretty big to me,"

Jak nodded and headed for the outer garage doors. "Then let's head out,"

"We'll see you when we get back, Cece," Nyx said as she followed Jak towards the doors.

"Promise you won't die?" Cece asked jokingly.

"Promise," Nyx replied as the doors slid open, revealing the blue air train parked outside. 

The trio boarded the air train and shook the sand off their clothes as the door closed and the giant zoomer rose up into the air and off towards Haven.

"Y'know," Nyx drawled. "Spargus is great and all, but I really hate the sand..."

Jak and Daxter both laughed. "Honey, we grew up with sand in awful places!" exclaimed Daxter. "Sure, the sand back there didn't fly around at three million miles per hour, buuutt,"

Nyx rolled her eyes. "I'd never seen sand until I got dumped here, please do pardon me, I'm used to metal streets,"

"Metal streets, neon lights, dirty sewers, and stupid government..." Daxter mused. "That's what Haven's got to offer, huh? But despite that, it's not too bad a place, once ya get used to it,"

"No place is perfect, I think," said Nyx. "But Haven's not the worst, really. It's better now that Baron Praxis is dead and gone,"

"Hear hear!" Daxter chanted. "And it'll be a lot better off once we deal with Errol again!"

Jak hummed. "Yeah, that's something we've gotta do, huh? Stop him and whatever it is he's doing with robots and Metal Heads..."

"Yep. That's gonna happen eventually..." Nyx sighed. "I don't... Wanna deal with that monster again... But somebody's gotta do it... And we seem to be the only ones who can,"

"Don't worry. We can take him. Nothing's stopped us so far, and I'm definitely not letting Errol be the one who does," Jak said, nearly growling out his words. He didn't like talking about Errol anymore than she did...

Nyx nodded, staring down at the floor. "You're right... Even if he's been turned into a literal monster by Dark Eco... He can't. He can't take us,"

"That's right! No twisted, fucked up ex-Commander can take the likes of us! That asshat is goin' down!" Daxter cheered, leaping in place on Jak's shoulder. 

Daxter's loud confidence was something of a comfort, because at least he could say it without sounding horribly depressed and angry. 

Nyx gave a breathy laugh as they landed in Haven's Port. "Yeah. You're right. He doesn't stand a chance,"

The door to the air train opened, and the trio made their way out. Even though they hadn't been gone too long, it was good to be back in Haven. It was also good to see that it hadn't completely fallen apart while they were gone, this time. 

They made their way to the Naughty Ottsel, where Torn and Jinx were found waiting for them. "Well that took you guys long enough," Jinx complained. 

"Well, sorry," Nyx drawled, pretending to be annoyed. "Traveling from Spargus isn't the shortest distance, y'know,"

Torn shook his head and then motioned to Jinx. "I told you we might have a way back to Freedom HQ. Jinx here is responsible for that plan,"

"Yeah, and I think it's a boomer of a plan!" Jinx exclaimed, breathing cigar smoke literally everywhere. "Y'know those nasty Blast Bots you've seen around? Well I captured one. ...Don't ask, I'll show you the scars later. I've rigged that baby with a remote control, and even more explosives than the standard package,"

"Jak, link into the remote, and direct that Blast Bot into the KG area. If you can get the Blast Bot close enough to the Freedom League border and blow it up, it should punch a hole in the defensive line there, and allow us to hook up with our comrades," Torn explained, handing Jak a fancy remote control. 

Jak took the remote and regarded it for a moment. "Alright, sounds easy enough,"

Nyx raised an eyebrow as Jak started operating the device, and looked over at Daxter. "Well would you lookit that, Dax. We get to sit by and relax for once,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nyx hadn't doubted for a second that Jak could direct that Blast Bot to the Freedom League border and blow that baby sky high. Jak had done things that were much more impossible in his life, this one was more than do-able.

She'd been entirely right, and for the first time in months, they were now setting foot back inside Freedom HQ. It had taken entirely too long to get back to; Torn's men had been separated from it for the better portion of Jak and Nyx's exile. And now they were finally able to get back to it, thanks to the return of said exiles. 

When they entered the control room of Freedom HQ, there were several people in the room. Ashelin was bent over another of those holographic tables, with Samos and Keira also gathered around the device. 

Onin was sitting on the floor near the window, her blind eyes staring out at nothingness. No one saw it, but she smiled as Jak and Nyx walked inside. Without having to see it, Pecker - Whom was perched on the table - Turned to see their new guests enter. 

"Hello, fellow peeps and cronies!" Daxter announced as they strode in. He then leaped onto the table to land near Pecker. "That's right! The Daxter-nator is back in the building!"

"You guys did it!" Keira cheered, dragging Nyx and Jak into a hug that was tighter than expected. "I knew you would!"

"It's about time you three got here," Samos barked, hitting his walking stick against the floor in an annoyed action.

Pecker flailed his wings in a exasperated motion at Jak. "What took you so long?!"

"Sorry," said Jak. "We only had a war in the way,"

"Regardless of that, you did great," Ashelin said. "Let me be the first to apologize for the city,"

Nyx shook her head at Ashelin. "It's not your fault. You tried, Ashelin. Veger knew the game too well..."

"This is my city," Ashelin countered. "He shouldn't have been able to go over my head like that,"

"When we're done with him, he won't ever be over anyone head ever again..." Jak growled. 

"Yeah! 'Cause he'll be six feet under!" Daxter exclaimed, pointing both his thumbs down towards the ground. "That guy stands no chance against us!"

Ashelin had to smile and give a slight chuckle. "I've heard a lot of boastful war-talk in my time, but if anyone can deliver what they promise, it's you guys,"

"Well," Samos interjected. "What we know is that there's a huge Dark planet builder bearing down on us all. How much time we have, no one can guess. If it is rogue Precursor technology, then the only way to destroy it is with more Precursor technology. And that lies at the bottom of the catacombs,"

"Also," added Keira, pointing towards one of the little screens on the table that had information floating on it. "The large number of Eco crystals being moved about can mean only one thing; Someone is trying to awaken vast Precursor technology,"

Jak rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "I think Veger's behind it... Or Errol... Or maybe..."

"Ooh, ooh!" Daxter interrupted, holding up his hands to try getting everyone's attention. "Wait 'till ya hear about my adventures in the Wasteland! So there I was, facing a whole brood of slobbering Metal Heads!"

Pecker looked just about ready to strangle Daxter, and seemed to be in the process of reaching for the ottsel's neck, when there was suddenly a loud explosion that shook the ground. Alarms began to blare, and red lights flashed in the room. "Uh oh..." Pecker mumbled.

"It looks like a large-scale assault!" Ashelin shouted, staring at one of the screens on her table. "Multiple targets in-bound! You three up for some action?"

Jak grinned, motioning for Daxter to get back onto his perch. "Look who you're talking to. Let's rock and roll,"

Daxter leaped back onto Jak's shoulder per the blond's wordless request, and they rushed back out of the control room, towards yet another battle. As they rode the elevator down, they could already hear the sounds of gunfire and panic outside the building. 

When the elevator doors slid open, they revealed two KG drop-ships out in the plaza, releasing robots into it. "I'll take one, you take the other?" Nyx suggested as the trio drew their weapons and headed in. 

Jak nodded. "Sounds good to me,"

With the basic plan set, Nyx headed to the right, taking aim at the red ship as she moved. With her morph gun on the Vulcan Fury setting, she opened fire, raining a hellstorm of blue bullets into the metal siding. The ship dipped down to try avoiding her shots, but she kept her crosshairs trained on it. It was a huge target, after all, it was hard to miss. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as just aiming at the drop-ship. There were plenty of death bots being released into the plaza by them, and those needed to be taken care of, too...

There were other soldiers around to aid with taking out the robots that were being deployed, but these men couldn't be everywhere at once. Nyx had stop focusing her fire on the ship, and turn to fire into a roboguard that was getting a little too close for comfort...

On the other side of the plaza, Jak was going to town on the other ship with his Gyro Burster, which damaged the ship as well as took out various ground enemies. He'd already blown apart two of the generator-like devices on the ship, which he assumed were what kept it up in the air. 

That was when things turned nasty. Jak almost didn't notice it, but suddenly there were various target lights lighting up the ground below him, and...

He dove out of the way just in time, landing a foot or so away as missiles rained down on the place he'd just previously been standing. Well, that was close...

"They've got missiles, kept moving!" Jak yelled, crushing one of the smaller robots under his feet as he shouted over to Nyx. 

"Got it!" Nyx called back, aiming up to shoot down a flying sentinel. She then turned her attentions back to the ship, having also finally figured out to aim at the generators they sported. 

The Vulcan Fury just wasn't cutting it, though... She switched to the Needle Lazer, and aimed the hefty gun at the unlucky drop-ship. She fired a few times, though perhaps that was overkill. Seconds later, and one side of the ship exploded, sending the whole thing crashing down into mother Earth. It exploded again on contact, bursting into flames. 

One down, one to go. 

Still dealing with the other drop-ship, Jak leaped over a roboguard, turned to shoot it, and then aimed back up at the final generator on the ship. It exploded gracefully, slamming into the side of a building as it went down in flames. 

They took a moment to catch their breath, wondering if it had really just been that easy. The assault on the Port had been more grueling than that...

The answer was; No, it wasn't that easy. With a low hum, a third drop-ship appeared, immediately firing a series of missiles into the plaza.

With barely any time to react, Nyx and Jak dove out of the way, rolling onto the floor and landing in a disorganized heap together. They pulled themselves back up just in time to dodge a series of lazers that the ship began firing, as it also began releasing more robots into the plaza. 

Looked like this one meant business...

Once the lazers had faded, Jak boldly took aim at the ship with his Gyro Burster. The wild-flying shots managed to take out one of the generators the ship sported, but that was all Jak accomplished. 

Before either of them could try taking aim again, they had to sprint away from another series of missiles that were being fired their way. "Okay," Nyx panted. "This guy's serious about wiping us out. You flank right, I'll flank left, okay? It can't aim at both of us at once,"

Jak nodded. "Got it,"

Jak sprinted across the plaza to flank the ship on it's right side, firing a few rogue bullets at it to maybe get it's 'attention'. It worked, and the ship began firing missiles in Jak's direction. 

While Jak dodged the missiles, Nyx took aim with her Needle Lazer again, managing to take out two more of the generators, though she nearly got caught by the lazers that the ship fired in retaliation. 

Following right after the lazers, Nyx had to quickly dive away from more missiles, just barely getting out of the blast radius. While this was happening, Jak took his opportunity to aim at the final generator. 

As Nyx reoriented herself, the ship above them exploded, setting itself on a crash course with the water fountain in the center of the plaza. Jak and Nyx both sprinted away from this location, fearing the cement shrapnel that would likely come from the crash. 

A large piece of cement whizzed by Jak's head as the ship made contact, shattering the fountain into many pieces. Jak looked behind him at the chunk of cement that could very well have killed him, and then back at the mess that the fountain had become. 

Actually, the whole plaza was a mess. The remains of three drop-ships were scattered around it, and still in flames. Cleaning that up was going to take some time. The question was; Who's time was it going to take? Did they even have an actual clean up crew or something? Or would some poor Ensign be forced to do it?

Nyx supposed that this didn't exactly matter much. They had other things to worry about. Shaking off the dust, Nyx and Jak headed back for the elevator into the HQ, which was relatively undamaged. 

"You okay?" Jak asked as the elevator moved up. 

"Yeah," Nyx panted in reply. "You?"

Jak nodded. "I'm alright. That wasn't as bad as the Port,"

"Yeah, I gotta say," Daxter hummed. "That one wasn't all that bad! I mean, sure, there were lazers and shit but we've faced worse!"

Nyx laughed. "You know there's something wrong with you when a large-scale assault is no big deal,"

"Nah," Jak chuckled. "That's when you know you're getting good,"

Nyx rolled her eyes as they re-entered the HQ control room, where their comrades were waiting. "Nice moves, you two!" Samos praised as they entered. "You're the best people we've got to lead an expedition into the catacombs!"

"Please, please! Let us not be too hasty!"

Everyone present turned towards the door to watch as the tall balding man known as Count Veger strode into the room as if he were a god. "Are you sure you want these Dark Eco freaks contaminating the hallowed halls of our glorious Precursors? I should lead the expedition, myself,"

Nyx felt Dark Eco shoot through her blood as he called them 'Dark Eco freaks'. Errol's voice echoed in her mind, and it was then she realized that Veger and Errol were rather similar people, weren't they? She wanted to say something, fight back against the arrogant bastard, but Ashelin beat her to it.

"We're tired of your scheming, Veger," Ashelin growled. 

"But I've got the answer you're looking for," Veger purred, clapping Ashelin on the back. The Baroness looked like she wanted to rip his arm off for that... "My Precursor monks have given me the knowledge to turn on the Planetary Defense Grid... If you beg me to do so,"

There was a moment of silence, as Nyx forced herself to keep her mouth tightly closed. She would regret it if she said anything, she just knew it. It was Keira who spoke up next, glaring fiercely at Veger with her bright green eyes. "Jak and Nyx have always gotten us through thick and thin. I'm with them!"

"Hear hear!" Samos barked, banging his walking stick into the ground. 

"You're washed up, Vegan!" Daxter yelled. 

"Veger! It's Veger, you idiot!" the tall man hissed back. 

Daxter rolled his eyes. "Whatever,"

Ashelin stepped up to Veger then, her metal boots sounding menacing against the metal floor. "Count Veger, I hereby dissolve the City Council, and strip you of your title, command, and all privileges. Now get out of my sight,"

"What?! How dare you!" Veger screeched, staring in disbelief at the people around him. "I offered you mercy, but now you will all burn in the Precursor fires of creation! I swear it,"

Everyone stared as Veger went, glad that Ashelin had finally sent him packing. Daxter stuck his tongue out at the now former-Count. "Man, that guy sure is one gate short of a yakkow pen, isn't he?"

"You can say that again," Jak mumbled, moving subtlety to brush his shoulder against Nyx's. She bumped back; A silent signal that she was okay. 

"That was one hell of an attack wave," Ashelin said as soon as Veger was gone. "We can't continue to repel such large assaults forever. That floating war factory has got to be shut down! The problem is; The factory is shielded and has gate codes on every access point. Most old KG door cyphers were kept hidden in the main system at the Power Station... If you can break into the system, you might be able to unlock the war factory doors to get inside..."

As Ashelin spoke, Onin's jaw slowly fell open as she foresaw something in the future. Pecker gaped at her for a moment, before shaking his head and turning to relay information his friends needed. "Onin says the Eco Grid in the Power Station could help you. But to open it, you must find the junction box in the sewer. Personally, I think you're crazy to go down there. But uh. Good luck!"

Jak and Ashelin looked to each other for a few moments, before Jak's gaze turned to Nyx. "I know you hate the sewers, but..."

Nyx forced herself to smile, much as she didn't want to go sewer spelunking again. "Let's just get it over with,"


	21. Seeking Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jak and Nyx lead a three-man assault on the KG robot war factory, and once inside are confronted by Errol. A very different and very pissed off Errol...

By this point in her life, Nyx was used to her days being pretty damn eventful. The past five months had been nothing but dangerous missions day in, and day out. But leading a full-frontal three man assault on the KG war factory was potentially up there with the craziest things she'd ever done. 

If it hadn't been for Jak's scary-good driving skills, they likely would have become piles of flaming hot ashes before they even got inside the factory. And getting in hadn't been an easy task, they'd had to shoot down the multitude of defenses the damned war factory had, and doing that while also being shot at wasn't easy. 

They'd managed, though, and had then proceeded to fight their way through the inside of the factory, wreaking as much havoc as they possibly could. The goal was to shut the factory down, right?

But Nyx wasn't particularly sure how they were actually meant to do that. Place was goddamn huge.

"So, Jak? What exactly are we looking for...?" Nyx questioned as they walked further into the factory. They hadn't seen any bots in a while, and it was becoming alarming...

Jak shrugged. "I dunno... This looks like the control room or something... Maybe we can-"

"And here I thought that you freaks had come looking for me! How terribly conceited of me..." 

Nyx and Jak stopped dead in their tracks as that familiar voice growled out words that echoed through the room. The sound of metal shoes hitting the floor resounded, and then there was Errol, standing a floor above them. 

All the breath in Nyx's lungs left her in one gust of air as she laid eyes on Errol. His current form was almost unrecognizable... And it was incredibly horrifying to stare at. 

The Dark Eco he'd crashed into had caused what seemed to be a permanent transformation in the ex-Commander. His skin had become pale gray, and his hair a bone white, not unlike Jak's when he transformed. Jagged scars ripped their way across his face, and the skin around his right eye appeared to be burned. To accompany this, his right ear was near entirely gone. 

That wasn't exactly the worst part, though. One of Errol's more disturbing new traits was that his eyes had become a solid glowing yellow, just like that of Metal Heads. They glowed so bright that they illuminated the white of his sharp teeth as his lips pulled back to snarl at the three before him.

He was still wearing his old KG armor, too. The exact same clothing he'd 'died' in. It was all ripped, cracked, broken, and burned, but the KG logo was still definitely there on his chest. 

The thing that trumped the disturbing glow of his eyes, though, was the way that Errol seemed to be carrying himself. His muscles jerked and spasmed with intense energy, and he seemed to barely be in control of his own movements. He was a tensely coiled spring, ready to pounce. But he likely had no control over when that moment would be. He appeared to be more like an animal than a human at this point... The Dark Eco had definitely deformed him greatly... His body couldn't even contain it all; It was constantly crackling in a permanent aura around him. 

"Errol..." Jak hissed, glaring up at the deformed man and feeling Dark Eco spring to life in his veins. 

Errol laughed, and it was an uncontrolled, hysterical sound. He seemed barely able to make himself stop so he could talk. "It's good to see you again, Jak... I was starting to think that you'd forgotten about me..."

"Wish I could..." Jak growled. 

Errol grinned. "But you can't, can you? I'm a part of you now, Jak. Both of you! I've changed you, have I not? I assume you still want revenge for that, don't you? But guess what? I want revenge, too! I think it's quite clear what you monsters have done to me!"

"You did this to yourself!" Nyx shouted. "I saw that race! It's your own fault that you crashed!"

Errol snarled and his whole body spasmed violently with the desire to move. "No! No, I had everything! It was all going my way, until you two had to go butting into my affairs! You just couldn't leave well enough alone! And now look what you've done to me!"

"You've got no one to blame but yourself, Errol," Jak said, trying to keep his voice level. "It all started with what you did to me..."

"And it should have killed you! It was never supposed to work! But you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Errol spit, flexing his clawed fingers slowly. "But that's not going to matter for long! You see, I've found myself some new friends to help me conquer this puny little planet..."

"You're talking to the Dark Makers...!" Jak realized, a twinge of fear settling into his chest. If Errol was working with the Dark Makers... 

"Well look at that, you figured it out!" Errol bellowed, his voice cracking. "I've discovered that them and us... You and me... We aren't all that different, deep down..."

Jak grimaced. "We're nothing like you!"

Errol laughed again, and proceeded to walk straight off the upstairs platform he was standing on, landing loudly on the floor below. He began stalking slowly towards Jak and Nyx, each move feeling forced, like he was fighting against his own body. "I beg to differ! We've all got Dark Eco in our veins... Dark Eco is a poison! Can't you see what you've done to me?!"

Errol paused to give a dark laugh. "I certainly see what it's done to you! But you're not quite like the others, are you...? No... You can control it! You haven't yet been swallowed by the poison in your veins... But I know that it's there... Chewing at your insides like a parasite!"

Each word that Errol forced out sounded like a struggle. His voice cracked and wobbled, and he truly sounded like a complete loon. Nyx had been right before, when she'd said that he'd gone off the deep end. It looked like he'd done a little more than that...

Even with Errol a good fifteen feet away from them still, Jak and Nyx could feel the raw Dark Eco radiating from his body. And it wasn't doing anything to help either of them stay calm. The purple energy was already jumping in small arcs from Nyx's skin, and she couldn't make it stop no matter how much she wanted to. 

Jak was a bit more composed in the face of the man who had tortured them and had now become a victim of his own poison. But that wasn't to say that he was calm. Dark Eco was coursing through him, and he felt his eyes darkening. "At least I'm not trying to destroy the entire planet by communicating with aliens..."

"I have to make you pay somehow, don't I?!" Errol yelled. "You're the one who did this to me! You ruined me, Jak! And I'm going to make you watch as I destroy this wretched planet! Too bad you won't be around to see what's left of it. Maybe a rock... Or a floating puddle of slag... Or nothing at all! Complete oblivion! So hard to choose..."

With each passing minute, Errol stalked closer to them as he spoke, like some kind of predator playing with his food. And Nyx definitively didn't like it... This was worse than the cocky son of a bitch he'd been before. He was a complete psychopath now...

"And you think the Dark Markers are going to just... What? Take you with them?" Jak asked. "You're in for a big surprise in that case. They don't play well with others. Just ask the Metal Heads,"

Errol growled, and it was a purely animalistic sound, barely recognizable as his own voice. "What do you know you miserable wretch! They're just like me, aren't they?! Poisoned by their own tools!"

He was getting too close... Nyx bit her lip as she felt the energy in her veins jump and spark. She grabbed onto Jak's arm, glaring daggers at Errol as her eyes turned a dark shade of blue-purple.

Errol then laughed, almost choking on the sound. "Look at you, Nyx... You can barely contain yourself... Don't tell me I'm having such a strong effect on you..."

Nyx snarled at Errol, and whipped her gun out to shoot at him in one smooth movement. She'd had more than enough of this. A Peace Maker shot struck Errol dead in the center of his chest, knocking him back a good few feet.

Errol held a hand to the site of impact as he stood back up, snarling and growling. Then he chuckled. "What? You think a little more Dark Eco is going to hurt me?! Look at me!"

"You should be dead!" Nyx yelled, her voice wavering and slightly frantic. "I saw you go up in a cloud of Dark Eco! It should have killed you! How are you still alive?!"

Errol grinned at her, showing all of his dagger-like teeth. "I thought you would have figured it out! I was an Eco channeler! Yellow, to be precise,"

Nyx hissed, grit her teeth, and quickly switched her gun to the Plasmite RPG, and fired again. Errol was quick to get out of it's way, and then snarled at them. "Is that the way you want to play this?! Fine!"

As if Errol didn't want to tear the two of them to complete shreds...

Jak pulled out his morph gun and immediately switched to the Gyro Burster, wasting no time in firing at Errol. The Dark Eco twisted man dove out of the way with scary speed, landing on all fours like some kind of animal, snarling viciously. 

Seconds later, Errol charged forwards, aiming to rip his opponents to shreds with his razor sharp claws. Jak and Nyx both dove to opposite sides of Errol, forcing him to choose who he'd go after. 

Errol chose to wheel around towards Jak, darting for the teenager's throat with his claws. But Jak was quick, and leaped out of the way before Errol's claws could reach him. He fired towards Errol, but the ex-Commander gracefully dodged out of the way, turning to lunge towards Nyx instead. 

Her reflexes weren't nearly as good as Jak's, and the speed that Errol came at her was nearly inhuman. She jumped back as soon as she realized what was happening, but by then, it was a slight bit too late. 

Errol's claws caught her side and raked across them, bringing blood gushing forth. She shrieked and collapsed backwards, scrambling across the ground a short distance before firing a haphazard shot into Errol's shoulder. 

Errol was thrown onto his backside by the force of the Plasmite RPG, but it hadn't done too much actual damage. Errol dragged himself back to his feet to face Nyx, glaring at her. He started stalking back towards her, being purposefully slow now, but that was when a blur of white and blue barreled into him, knocking him to the ground.

Daxter scampered into Nyx's lap at the same moment that she realized it was Jak who'd collided with Errol; Having transformed himself to even the odds. 

"Are ya okay?!" Daxter demanded, small paws pulling at Nyx's clothes to try and get a better look at the wound.

"I'm fine," Nyx bit out, already shoving back the Dark Eco so she could pull forth Green. The pain had turned her entire side into a burning void; It felt like her entire side had been clawed out. Tears began to stream down her cheeks without her permission, but she bit her lip and kept from making sound. She was tougher than this...

Daxter quietly regarded her, trying to judge if she was, indeed, fine. He nodded after her skin began to glow green, and the new blood oozing from her body began to diminish. 

Across the room, Jak and Errol were tumbling over each other, grasping and grappling, each trying to get the upper hand. Claws shredded clothes and skin, both red and deep purple blood staining the floor. Animal-like cries filled the air, as the two Dark Eco infused men attempted to brutally kill each other.

Nyx dragged herself back to her unstable feet as soon as she was no longer bleeding, but she wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do, now. She couldn't separate the two of them... They were both too strong. And she couldn't take a shot at Errol without potentially hitting Jak...

"What do I do, Dax...?" Nyx mumbled as the ottsel assumed his perch on her shoulder.

"I dunno..." Daxter mumbled back. "Just uh... Let Jak try and figure this one out... He's... He's got this..."

Neither of them were entirely convinced of that, but they stood and watched as Jak pinned Errol to the ground, hands wrapping around the other's throat. He growled low and snapped his teeth at Errol, like some kind of warning. 

Errol snarled back, and violently dragged claws down Jak's shoulders. Jak turned to sink his teeth into one of Errol's arms, biting off a chunk of gray and purple flesh. Errol thrashed, and managed to throw Jak off of him, the smaller man tumbling a few feet. 

With the two of them now apart, Nyx took the moment to aim at Errol, her gun now set to the Blaster. She aimed for the exposed flesh of Errol's side, hoping that maybe she could shoot straight through the bastard. 

She fired, and Errol promptly hit the ground with a pained and defiant yell. He writhed there for a moment, pressing a hand to the wound. In this moment, Jak recovered and started limping back towards Errol. 

Errol looked up to see the murderous expression that Jak wore, and scrambled to his feet. But instead of fighting, the madman backed up, still holding a hand to his wound. And then he bolted, turning tail and running for the warp gate behind him, dropping a Light Eco crystal as he went. 

Jak lunged, but Errol was gone and through it before Jak could reach him. Jak gave an angry screech and grit his teeth. 

As Errol passed through the warp gate, an alarm started blaring overhead. Something was a bit wrong... And it became obvious moments later, when the floor beneath them began to give way, and the ceiling started to collapse.

"Shit! This place is coming down, Jak!" Nyx yelled, dodging out of the way of falling ceiling panels.

Jak made a sound deep in his throat, and rushed across the room to grab Nyx and haul her towards the warp gate Errol had used. Daxter dismounted Nyx's shoulder to snag the Light Eco crystal that Errol had dropped, and then bounded to Jak's shoulder to join them for the warp gate ride. 

Nyx paused to reprogram the gate's destination, and then Jak's arm was around her waist again, hauling her through the gate as the war factory caved in on itself behind them. 

The warp gate spit them out in the Power Station, right where Nyx wanted. They tumbled across the floor and landed in an unceremonious heap, with Daxter somehow on top. 

Nyx dragged herself up off the ground to brush herself off, but Jak made no moves to get up... "Jak...?"

Jak groaned in response, and seconds later reverted back to his normal form. He rolled over, holding his hands to a deep puncture in his right side that was oozing blood everywhere. His breaths were coming hard, though he didn't seem to be in as much pain as he probably should have.

But Nyx knew that's just how Jak was. He didn't feel pain as vividly as most people, but right now he definitely seemed aware that something was wrong with him. 

"Shit, Jak...!" Nyx hissed, kneeling down to pry Jak's hands away from the wound. It was deep, and it was nasty. "Shit, holy fuck..."

Daxter nussled against Jak's other side, prompting Jak to blindly reach for the ottsel's head to pet him. "Ya can fix him, right?"

"I don't have enough Eco, I barely had any to begin with!" Nyx hissed, panic and Dark Eco starting to creep into her. "Holy fuck, we gotta get to Samos!"

Daxter twisted his head to bite Jak's hand, forcing Jak to open his eyes. "Ya gotta get up, buddy. We gotta get to Samos, c'mon. Ya can do it,"

Jak groaned slightly, but started pulling himself up anyways. Nyx helped him, and managed to get him up and out the Power Station door. She left him to lean against the wall, while she fetched a zoomer. Jak dragged himself into it when she brought it over, letting her drive for once in their lives.

"Jak, can you stay conscious for me?" Nyx asked as she pulled away from the Power Station and started driving towards HQ as fast as she possibly could. 

Jak nodded and panted an answer. "Yeah. I'm alright, I swear..."

"You're definitely not okay, Jak... That looks bad... You're bleeding a lot..." Nyx mumbled, glancing over at him.

Jak gave a short chuckle. "I'm okay. Promise. Don't have much Eco myself, but I'm trying to stunt the bleeding..."

"Good," Nyx sighed. "Keep doing that, and just stay awake. I'll let Dax keep biting you if we have to,"

"And I will totally do it, too!" Daxter warned, crawling into Jak's bloody lap, staring up at his best friend.

Jak nodded. "Got it,"

By the time they got to HQ, the zoomer was a bloody mess. Though Jak still seemed pretty calm and fairly conscious. Nyx rushed to get him out of the zoomer anyways, and hauled him towards the door. 

The elevator ride seemed tense, the only sounds being Jak's somewhat labored breathing, and Nyx's panicked gasps.

"Samos!" Nyx called as the elevator slid open, dragging Jak through the door and into the control room. "We need a little help here..."

"Sweet grass grubs, what happened?!" Samos demanded as he crossed the room to drag forth a chair that they set Jak down in.

Nyx grimaced. "Errol happened..."

"He's alive...?" Keira asked, her voice barely over a whisper.

Nyx replied without looking over at Keira, her attention being mostly taken by Jak, whom Samos was fussing over. "You could say that... He's... Not what he used to be..."

"All that Dark Eco he crashed into turned him into a real ugly monster!" Daxter exclaimed, pulling a grossed out face. "And he's blamin' us for it!"

Keira stared for a few moments, unsure of how she was meant to react to that information. Before she could say anything, though, Ashelin stepped in. "And he's the one who's been making all those death bots?"

"Yeah..." Nyx replied. "I think he's leading the Metal Heads, too... That's why they worked together to assault the Port..."

Ashelin shook her head. "And where's Errol now?"

"We took it to that deformed goon and kicked his nuts! ...And bolts..." Daxter exclaimed.

"He got away, though..." Jak rasped. "But we shut down his robot factory..."

"Honestly, I don't think the robots are the worst of our worries..." Nyx muttered. "He's talking to the Dark Makers somehow... Probably trying to awaken that ship before we can destroy the damn thing,"

Keira's eyes widened as she heard just how low Errol had stooped. "We've gotta stop him!"

"That we do," Samos mumbled as he worked over Jak's wounds. "And to do that, we must get into those catacombs..."

Onin began to sign then, and Pecker quickly began to translate. "Onin says the Precursors and Dark Makers have fought over worlds for as long as time has turned. It would not be the first time a planet was lost to those monsters,"

"Well it's not gonna be this planet!" Jak growled, putting as much force into his words as he could whilst still injured and bleeding.

"I second that. Errol can try, the Metal Heads can try, the damned Dark Makers can try! But we're coming out on top of this!" Nyx barked, her eyes full of metaphorical fire. 

"I agree," said Jak. "We've lasted this long. We've just gotta find a way to destroy that thing. And the truth is at the bottom of the catacombs... So that's where we've gotta go..."

Nyx hummed. "That's probably gonna be easier said than done. But I guess that's how everything works around here, right?"

"Sure seems that way," Ashelin said as she fished out two identical gun mods from under the table. She tossed them both to Nyx, who managed to clumsily catch them by bracing them against her chest. "But if anyone can do the impossible, it's you guys,"

Jak snorted. "That seems to be our specialty, huh?"

Nyx chuckled. "Yeah, unfortunately. But someone's gotta do the dirty stuff, right?"

"I really wish it wasn't us..." Daxter mumbled. "'Cause sometimes these missions really suck ass!"

Nyx reached over to pat the ottsel's head. "Can't believe I'm saying it, but I'm actually getting pretty used to all this,"

"Well, do not let your comfort become complacency," Samos said as he finally finished healing Jak's wounds. "I would hate for your ego to be your downfall,"

"Me? Having an ego?" Nyx asked, almost laughing at Samos. "Nah, you're confusing me with Dax, there,"

Samos stared at her for a moment. "I assure you that I am not confused,"

Daxter burst out into laughter, then. "See! Even old loghead thinks you've got an ego!"

"Hey, at least I don't make up stories that never happened!" Nyx protested. "I just know that we are damn good at what we do!" 

Jak chuckled and hauled himself up to clap Nyx on the shoulder. "Accept it, you're just as egotistical as we are,"

"Oh, so you're admitting that you have an ego, too?" Nyx teased, crossing her arms and staring up at him. 

Jak shrugged. "Well, you are right. We're damn good at what we do,"


	22. Our Future's Here And Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit's hit the fan. Hard. Jak and Nyx help blow open the Metal Head nest, but can't stop Errol from reaching the Dark Maker's ship. Their assault on the planet begins, and it becomes crucial that Jak and Nyx get to the catacombs to power up the Planetary Defense Grid. But things can never exactly go smoothly, can they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are. The final game-based chapters of this story! Jak3 is officially done and over with! And this chapter is by far the longest in this series. I've been keeping these chapters semi-short, but since this is the one where all the action and climax happens, I let it be longer. It's approximately 7k words. 
> 
> While the Jak3 parts of this fic are technically over, there will indeed be more! I wanted to include my OCs more, so there will definitely be bonus chapters than involve them! Bonus chapters will come slowly, but they'll be happening.

Shit was definitely beginning to go down, now. Even though Jak had managed to take down the shields on the Dark Maker ships by mentally linking into it with the Astro-Viewer, the twisted Precursors had still managed to launch an assault on Spargus. 

Jak had repelled the assault with the turret he'd used months ago to win a Light Eco crystal from Kleiver. The city had taken some damage in the assault, but it would survive.

It was the conversation with Damas that happened afterwards that was currently stuck in both Nyx and Daxter's heads as they walked through Haven now, heading back towards HQ. 

Daxter crawled from Jak's shoulder to Nyx's, and the two shared a look. Silent words passed between them, before Daxter nodded. Nyx sighed, and then turned to their partner. "Jak...?"

"I know what you're thinking," Jak replied, not even looking over at them. 

"Aren't ya curious to know if he's your father?" Daxter asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Jak gave a quiet sigh. "Just because he ruled Haven doesn't mean he's my father... There could have been other branches of Mar's lineage... He could... Be my Uncle or something..."

"But he could still be your family, Jak..." Nyx said softly. "And he... Jak, he lost a son in Haven, remember? And the Kid... He... You were just the right age..."

"Yeah!" Daxter agreed. "What if Sig never found ya because the Underground had ya hidden? And then sent ya back in time!"

Jak gave another sigh, this one sounding more aggravated. "I don't know... I... We'll talk to him about it later..."

Nyx gave a soft sigh, somehow knowing that Jak was going to put up walls during this conversation. This was the best answer they could have gotten out of him. "Okay..."

The rest of the walk to HQ was quiet, with Jak looking vaguely annoyed and deep in thought... And a Jak who was stuck inside his own head was never a good thing to have... Hopefully they had some kind of mission to go on that would distract him...

Nyx was relieved to see Ashelin studying some blueprints when they entered Freedom HQ. Blueprints meant there was a plan, right? "There you are," said Ashelin when she saw the trio walk in. 

"Got some work for us, Red?" Daxter asked, leaping from Nyx's shoulder to the table.

"I do. Who knows what Errol will try to do next with that Dark ship... We've gotta take him out!" Ashelin explained. 

"And I suppose you know how we can take him?" Jak asked, just a bit too much aggravated bite making it's way into his words. Nyx was starting to feel guilty for ever asking about Damas...

Ashelin nodded. "I have a plan. But it's risky,"

"Oh, of course!" Daxter drawled. "It couldn't be easy, noooooo. And I'm sure we're on the short-list to head up the mission, huh?"

"No," Ashelin responded. "This one's tricky. I'm giving it to Torn and Jinx,"

"What?!" Daxter shouted, flailing his arms around in shock. "I suppose you don't think we're good enough, huh? You don't think we can do it!"

"Dax!" Jak groaned, trying to get Daxter to not go off on an egotistical spiel.

But Daxter, being Daxter, ignored him. "May I remind you that this team here has taken on just about every scary thing this world can throw at us for three! Count 'em! Three adventures!"

"Daxter!" Jak barked, more annoyance seeping into his tone. 

"This is an outrage, Jak!" Daxter continued, while Nyx shook her head at him and dragged a hand down her face. "We're the heroes! We're the ones on cereal boxes for God's sake! And I'm about to release my own line of sport's shoes! I've got a contract!"

Ashelin rolled her eyes and shook her head at the over dramatic ottsel on her table. "You're on the mission. Your job is to cover Torn and Jinx on a vehicle filled with explosives. Escort them to the Metal Head section, and together you'll blow open the nest,"

"Oh... Well... Why didn't you say so in the first place?" said Daxter, sounding just a bit guilty for his unneeded tirade just then. 

Ashelin shook her head again. "Just go meet them, and get this mission underway,"

Jak lead the way out of HQ, and out into the streets of Haven. They made it about two steps out the door when Nyx spoke up. "Am I the only one who has an issue with Torn driving a vehicle full of explosives...?"

"Uuuuhhh... Yeah?" Daxter answered slowly.

Nyx sighed. "Okay. Good to know I'm worrying for no reason. He's an ex-KG... He... He can do this..."

Jak reached over to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "He'll be fine. He's got us to cover him,"

Nyx nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. We got this,"

"That's the spirit!" Daxter cheered. 

When they arrived to the location where Torn and Jinx were waiting, they were surprised to find Sig there, too. "Sig!" Jak called. "What are you doing here?"

"Heard that you cherries might need a little assistance with your war. And nobody's better at war than a Wastelander!" Sig replied. "Now get in, we've got ourselves a Metal Head nest to blow open, don't we?"

Nyx gave a breathy laugh at Sig's eagerness to blow up Metal Head stuff. "Yeah, guess we do... You want the turret, Jak?"

"Absolutely," Jak smirked, leaping up to man said gun. 

Nyx laughed and climbed in after him. "I'll catch any straggler forces, then," 

"And I'll keep an eye out for shit comin' from your blind spots!" Daxter decided. 

Torn climbed into the vehicle full of explosives that he'd been assigned to drive, and was just about to start the engine when Nyx's voice called out to him. "Hey, Torn!" 

"Yeah?" Torn rasped back, looking over to meet eyes with her.

"Don't die," Nyx said, switching her gun to the Blaster.

Torn snorted and smirked. "I don't intend to,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well... This place is... Lovely..." Nyx mumbled as various Skull Gems hit and bounced off the ground, recently freed from their owners. 

"And to think this used to be the Stadium..." Jak chuckled darkly. "C'mon, we gotta move,"

After blowing open the entrance to the Metal Head tower, they'd gruelingly fought their way through it, the mission coming to it's peak when they found and confronted Errol, who somehow had a portal that lead straight to the Dark Maker's ship. 

They'd been unable to stop him before he escaped through it, and there was no way they were going to follow him in there... Taking the Dark Eco crystal Errol left behind, they high-tailed it out of there before the whole place came crashing down. 

Onin and Samos then tasked them with finally getting down into the catacombs, to see what sorts of things lay within. And that was where they currently were, traipsing through the Metal Head infested Stadium ruins, trying to reach the catacombs. Though it didn't look much like the Stadium at all... The Metal Heads had done a huge number on it...

Nyx followed after Jak, keeping an eye out for anymore Metal Heads that might find their way out of the woodwork. The damn things seemed to be good at popping up out of nowhere, she'd learned.

They'd tried using Jak's Spargan beacon to call in reinforcements when they saw how many Metal Heads were around, but the blasted thing didn't work. So they were completely on their own this time. 

Well, aside from Pecker, of course. Who was found waiting for them on a pile of rubble. "Where have you been?! I've molted three times already just waiting for you! Onin says we must get through the Palace ruins, but I think- Uh oh..."

Pecker's statement was cut incredibly short by the sound of something moving behind them. Something that was definitely not a Metal Head... The trio spun around to lay eyes on three Dark Maker devices that resembled the satellites they'd seen before. With their backs to a pile of rubble, and these things around them...

They were well and truly trapped. And Pecker had flown off to leave them there.

"Jak, lemme just say, before it's all over..." said Daxter, his legs starting to tremble as he hid behind Jak's shoulder. "Riding on your shoulder - Although it is kinda bony, and uncomfortable, well... You've been a good pal,"

"You, too, Dax... These adventures, they've been great," replied Jak. Then he reached over to pull Nyx towards him, shielding her face in his neck. "Nyx... I love you. More than I've ever loved anyone else in the world... I hope you know that..."

Blinking back tears that were trying to escape, Nyx nodded. "Of course I do. You better know that I feel the same way,"

As the Dark Maker things inched closer and began preparing to attack, Jak stood tall in the face of death. Nyx was tense next to him, her face still buried in his neck. Daxter cowered behind Jak's shoulder, barely able to look his death in the face.

This was it. It was all over. 

Just as the Dark Maker machines moved to officially attack, something broke through the wall behind them, crashing into the machines and turning them into nothing but scrap metal and Dark Eco. Jak and Nyx ducked away from the rubble and debris, but they heard the screech of tires as they came to a stop. Was that a vehicle?

When the debris cleared, they looked up to see a heavily armored Wasteland buggie before them, with Damas at it's wheel. "Someone call for an army?"

"Well you're a long way from the desert," Jak commented, having no other idea how to thank Damas for just saving their lives. "I thought you said a smart warrior never takes his opponent head on?"

"That depends on how hard your skull is," Damas replied as Jak and Nyx climbed into the huge car he was driving. "I'd say that you and I are both rather headstrong,"

Nyx snorted, trying to hide how goddamn terrified she was about nearly dying. "I can attest to that on Jak's end..."

Jak gave her a slight grin, and then turned towards Damas. "Let's finish this,"

Damas hit the gas, and started driving the huge buggie through the passageways of the Palace ruins. It wasn't long before they reached a trench with a few inches of standing water at it's bottom. This was where the Dark Makers began to fire artillery shells towards them, signaled by the ground lighting up with their projected aiming reticules. 

"Shit, they're firing at us!" Nyx hissed, trying to identify the source of the assault. 

"Do not panic, we will make it through this," Damas assured her, swerving around the reticule and zooming past it. 

Whatever was aiming at them fired shortly after, and the ground shook with the force of the explosion. It had just barely stopped, when various Dark Maker creatures began to flood towards them. 

"Get on the turret, Jak!" Damas ordered, swerving the car to avoid the first few of them.

Jak did as instructed, and opened fire on the forces before them. They went down easy, no match for the heavy Wastelander firepower. It didn't mean that they weren't a threat, but it meant that Jak and his companions could put up a good fight. 

Nyx unholstered her gun and switched to the familiar Vulcan Fury, taking aim at creatures that were in the turret's 'blind spot'. 

"Jak!" Damas soon called. "There is a barrier up ahead! Hold on tight, we're going to have to ram it!"

"Got it!" Jak replied, ducking down and hanging onto whatever vehicle parts he could. Nyx braced herself against her seat, and then Damas hit the button that triggered one of the boost devices the buggie had. 

They rocketed through the barrier that was in their way, debris and rubble flying past their faces. As soon as it was over, Jak was back on the turret, mowing down the Dark Maker forces with reckless abandon. 

The next barrier they came across was electric, but it's generators were scattered across the area. With enough speed, they were able to take the generators out, and take down the force field. 

Past this was an open area of grass, with more Dark Maker forces littering it. After dispatching them, they rammed down a piece of metal debris to use as a bridge, and continued on their way. 

They kept pushing forwards, mowing down Dark Makers and breaking down any barriers in their way. There were many more force fields in their path, and even large gaps in the terrain that had to be jumped, but they managed to make their way through. It wasn't easy, and it took more time than any of them would have liked, but they could see the beginnings of what Jak recognized as Precursor subrails in the distance. 

And just when it was starting to look like they'd made it... An artillery shell slammed into the back of their buggie, causing it to flip over as it was propelled forwards, the metal frame crunching as it was crushed. 

Jak was thrown from his position on the turret, landing somewhere near the car and smacking his head on something hard. His consciousness faded out for just a brief second, before he forced himself to come back around, forcing himself back to his feet. 

Nyx was dragging herself away from the wreckage of the car, having also been flung from it a short distance. She dragged herself to her feet as Jak rushed to her, and shrugged off the physical aid he tried to give her. "I'm fine! Where's Damas?"

"I don't know..." Jak mumbled, studying the wreck and then moving around to it's side, Nyx limping after him. 

They saw the blood before they saw Damas, but that was where they found him. His lower body had been crushed by the massive weight of the buggie, and it had nearly bisected him. 

"Damas!" Jak yelled, as Nyx let out an undignified cry of disbelief and shock. 

Jak rushed to Damas' side, and Nyx followed him with panicked urgency. "Don't move, Damas!" Nyx ordered, instinctively hovering her hands over Damas' body, pulling Green Eco from her reserves to try healing the damage done.

"Please..." Damas groaned. "Do not waste your Eco... There is nothing you can do..."

"No!" Nyx yelled, tears gushing forth from her eyes. "We're not leaving you here!"

Damas leaned back into Jak's arms, the color already fading from his skin. "It's been a good fight, and a good a day as any to die... I'm... Very proud to have been by your sides... In the end..."

Damas coughed, and blood dripped down his lips. "This world is not yet out of heroes..."

"We did well together," Jak said, his voice breaking as Damas slowly faded away in his arms. 

Meanwhile, Nyx was still desperately trying to heal Damas' wounds, but she'd run out of stored Green Eco in her body. She tried pulling at her core, like she'd done years ago when Torn had nearly been killed. But she wasn't able to; The Dark Eco in her veins had dulled her normal Eco channeling, and she couldn't pull forth any substantial amount of Eco. Still, she tried, though it felt like ripping apart her very insides. But it just. Wasn't working.

"Please, promise me one thing..." Damas panted, reaching up to grab Jak's arm. "Promise me you'll find my son, Mar. You'll know him when you see this..."

And then Damas placed something in Jak's hand, and Jak pulled back to look at it. It was... Another seal just like his own...

"He's... wearing an amulet just like it..." Damas forced out. "A symbol of our lineage with the great House of Mar..."

Damas coughed and choked again, even more blood gurgling up his throat and down his chin. He knew he wasn't long for this world... "Save the people... They need you all..."

Jak and Damas held eye contact for just one more second, before Damas' blue eyes slid closed, and his head lolled to the side, his whole body going slack. 

Nyx gave a defiant cry as Damas' body stopped trying to accept the tiny amounts of Green Eco she was dredging up from within her body. No... This wasn't how things were supposed to go!

Jak was silent for a moment, looking hurt and shocked, and then. "Father..."

Nyx choked on another cry as she heard Jak say that. Damas had indeed been Jak's father and. And he'd just died because of them! She hadn't been able to save him, and now he was gone...

"Yes. You were that child," 

Jak looked up as the sound of Veger's voice suddenly sounded. He locked eyes on the former Count, standing in front of the subrails. Nyx didn't bother moving to see Veger, but she clenched her hands into the dirt floor.

"I took you from Damas, hoping to harness your Eco powers for my own experiments! Then, I lost you to the Underground..." Veger explained.

Jak's eyes had begun darkening, and he was glaring at Veger with an extreme passion. Veger just smiled at him. "You seem upset. Did I tell you too late? You were the son of the great warrior, Damas. Oh, and he never knew. How delightful..."

A raw yell broke from Jak's throat as Dark Eco exploded around him, and for a brief moment - As he screamed Veger's name - He transformed. It was over just as soon as it had happened, the briefest transformation that Jak had ever experienced. 

"Thank you for opening the door to the Precursors," said Veger, completely unfazed by Jak's display of anger. "Don't worry... I'll be back to put you out of your misery,"

Veger then leaped into one of the subrail cars, and drove off to places unknown. Jak and Daxter stared at him as he went, and then their attention turned to Nyx, who hadn't even acknowledged Veger's presence at all. 

Her body was shaking like a leaf, with Dark Eco violently crackling around her. She was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, and her eyes were screwed closed. But the tears that streamed down her face were tinted purple, and her skin looked paler than Jak had ever seen it.

"Nyx...?" Jak questioned softly, slowing reaching out towards her. 

As Jak's hand made contact with Nyx's shoulder, her eyes snapped open. Jak recoiled his hand as he saw her eyes; They were darker than they normally would be. The iris had entirely turned black, and her sclera were beginning to darken, too...

She was closer to a physical transformation than she'd ever been in her life.

"Nyx..." Jak breathed, moving from his position by Damas to crouch by Nyx. "Nyx, babe..."

Nyx gave a choked cry as Jak reached out for her again, and wrenched herself away. "I couldn't save him!" she shrieked, curling inwards. "I couldn't do anything!"

"I know," Jak said, trying to reach for her again. "I don't blame you for this... You did what you could, but there was... There was no saving him..."

"He was your father!" Nyx yelled. "He was your father and I let him die!"

Jak shook his head and tried to get Nyx to look at him. "No! You're not responsible for this, Nyx! He chose to come help us, and it's no one's fault that we got hit! You did your best, but I don't think even Samos could have saved him!"

Nyx stared at Jak for a good few moments, before completely collapsing onto her hands and knees, screaming and sobbing into the ground. Dark Eco was still exploding around her body, and Jak became concerned about her actually transforming... Was she even capable of it?

Slowly, Jak moved closer to her, reaching out to run a hand up and down her back. He didn't say anything more, waiting for her to either lose it completely, or calm down. 

She laid on the ground for a good while, before the Dark Eco began to dissipate, and her sobs quieted. She soon looked up at Jak, her eyes back to a normal and familiar shade of darkened blue. "We need to go. We have to get Veger,"

Jak shook his head. "Daxter and I will go. I want you to say here with him... Use your beacon to call someone here..."

"What?" Nyx breathed, staring at Jak incredulously. "I'm not letting you go alone! I did that once!"

"And I came back, right?" Jak asked. "I promise I'll come back this time. But Damas... Needs to get back to Spargus. Please..."

Nyx grit her teeth and for a moment Jak thought she would fight it as she shook her head. "There's no way I should let you do this... I should not let you two go in there alone... But okay. Okay..."

Jak nodded and reached up to cup her face. "I swear to you that I'll come back,"

"You fucking better," Nyx hissed.

Jak leaned forwards, and pressed his lips to Nyx's, holding her there for a moment. He tried to tell her with just one action that he loved her. That he was coming back and that it was all going to be okay. And even if he never said any of those things aloud, Nyx got the message loud and clear. 

Jak soon pulled away and stood up, heading towards the other subrail car. "Kick his ass, Jak!" Nyx called after him. Jak turned to nod, and then leaped into the vehicle. He started it's engine, and zoomed off down the track.

Left alone with Damas' corpse, Nyx dragged herself to her shaky feet. She stared at Damas for just a moment, before fishing her Spargus beacon from her pocket, and activating it. 

She moved from that side of the buggie as she waited, no longer able to look at Damas. He hadn't deserved this... The once alive area was now deathly quiet, which was almost suiting to the mood Nyx was in. 

She couldn't say how much time had passed before another Spargan buggie pulled up before her, but she was glad to see Sig behind it's wheel. She limped up to the big Wastelander as he got out of his vehicle. "Sig... I'm so glad it's you..."

Sig raised an eyebrow. "You look like hell, chilli pepper... Where's Jak and Damas?"

Nyx's eyebrows knit together in pain and sadness. "Jak went ahead to chase down Veger, but..."

Her voice cracked and she couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence, so she simply turned to walk back towards Damas' body. She gestured to it, trying her best to not look.

Sig followed her slowly, and his face morphed into horror as he saw Damas crushed beneath his own car. "Sweet Precursors... What happened?"

"We got hit from behind..." Nyx mumbled, unable to look Sig in the eyes. "The buggie flipped and Damas ended up under it. I... I tried to save him..."

Sig was quiet a moment as Nyx started crying again. Then he reached out to grasp her shoulder. "It ain't your fault, cherry... You did what you could..."

Nyx bit her lip, teeth sinking back into the bloody cuts she'd already made before. "But... But as he died he... He... Shit, you're not gonna believe me..."

"What're you trying to say, chilli pepper? Why wouldn't I believe you?" Sig asked. "I've seen some shit in my time, I don't think you could tell me anything I don't believe,"

Nyx sighed. "I dunno... Do you... Do you believe that time travel is possible...? With the right Precursor technology...?"

Sig hummed and was quiet a moment. "I think I might believe that. I've seen some interesting Precursor tech before, and they were definitely some powerful old fellows. What's this gotta do with Damas, though?"

Nyx took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly. He wasn't going to believe her... "Jak is Damas' son..."

"What?" Sig asked, clearly sounding baffled.

Nyx forced herself to look up at Sig to keep talking. "Jak is the son that Damas lost in Haven, Sig. Veger kidnapped him for his own sick purposes, but he somehow ended up with the Underground. I knew the kid. Green hair, doesn't talk, sweet as sugar, right?"

With a bemused look, Sig nodded. "That's Damas' boy, yeah..."

"We learned that Jak and that boy are the same person. That Jak was sent back in time to protect him from Kor. We completed that circle by sending the boy and the Shadow back in time, to the village where Jak grew up and met Daxter..." Nyx explained, her voice still quiet and shaking. 

Sig was silent as he stared at Nyx, seeming to be processing that information. Nyx sighed in exasperation. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Nah, nah, cherry, I think believe you. I just can't believe that he's been here this whole time. I looked all over Haven for him, and you guys had him the whole time. And then Jak is... Jak is that same boy..." Sig replied, still trying to put together all the little pieces in his head. 

"We found it hard to believe at first, too, but once we thought about it... It made so much sense. Jak was mute as a kid, according to Samos, Daxter, and Keira... He only learned to talk after those two years in prison," said Nyx. 

"I feel like I shoulda seen it sooner," Sig decided. "Now that I'm thinking about the two of them... It's so obvious,"

Nyx nodded. "Yeah. It is..."

There was a moment of silence, before Sig gave Nyx's shoulder a squeeze. "C'mon, chilli pepper. Let's uh... Get Damas outta here,"

Nyx glanced towards the body that was growing cold underneath the remains of that buggie. She grit her teeth, blinked back tears, and nodded. "How are we gonna get him out from under there?"

"I'll lift it, and you pull him," Sig said, walking over to the vehicle. He crouched down to grip the sides of it. "C'mon, chilli pepper, let's get this over with,"

Nyx sighed, and moved to crouch by Damas. She didn't want to touch his body, but... She had to... 

"On three," said Sig. "One, two, three...!"

As Sig did his best to haul up the giant car, Nyx started dragging Damas' body out from under it. As she successfully freed him from the vehicle, she fell backwards from the momentum. 

Nyx dragged herself off the ground, and back to her feet. She stared down at Damas' mangled body, and bit down on her lip again, new tears coming to the corners of her eyes. 

A large hand found her shoulder again. "It's alright, cherry. C'mon, let's finish this,"

Nyx nodded and wiped at her eyes with the back of her wrists. She watched as Sig carefully hefted Damas off the ground, and began bringing him over to the car he'd arrived in. Once Damas' body was secured in the back, Sig motioned for Nyx to climb in.

Nyx glanced back at the Precursor subrails that Jak and Daxter had gone down, silently wishing she could follow them now. But with no other choice, she climbed into Sig's buggie, and they started heading out of the ruins.

They were silent until they exited the ruins, heading back into Haven's streets. A question rose to Nyx's mind, and while it was probably the most useless question she could've asked at that particular moment, she needed something else to think about. "How did Damas get in here, anyways?"

"Don't you know that he and Ashelin are... Were friends?" Sig asked, glancing over at her. 

Nyx shook her head. "She... Gave us the beacon that got us found... But she never explained how she had it..."

"Damas saved her from a Metal Head assault during a rather risky mission years ago. She was the only survivor. They parted as friends, and Damas gave her that beacon, despite knowing who she was," Sig explained. "Guess it finally served both of them well,"

Nyx sighed. "I guess so..."

The two went quiet again as they made their way through Haven. Soon, though, Nyx's communicator burst to life. "Nyx? Nyx, this is Ashelin! Jak's not answering, please come in!"

Nyx scrambled to get her communicator out to respond to Ashelin. "I'm here, Ashe. Jak's going through the Precursor subrails to find Veger... Or... That's what he was doing when I last saw him..."

"Jak's not with you?" Ashelin asked. "Where are you? I let Damas into the city a while ago, he was looking for you two,"

"Yeah, he..." Nyx's voice cracked. "He found us,"

Ashelin was silent for a moment. "Did something happen?"

New tears had bubbled up in Nyx's eyes, and she forced out broken words. "Damas is dead. We got hit and he..."

"I get the picture," said Ashelin. "I'll meet you at the gates,"

"Okay..." Nyx mumbled, again wiping away tears from her eyes. 

Sig was quiet a moment after Nyx's comm went silent. Then, "You better not let the other Wastelanders see you cry like that, cherry,"

It was mostly a joke, trying to get her to maybe laugh, and Nyx knew it. But the other part of her knew that it wouldn't be very warrior-like of her to be seen crying like a baby. So she nodded. "I know,"

As promised, Ashelin met them at the Haven gates. The first thing she noticed was that Nyx was a complete mess. "Are you okay?" she asked as Nyx climbed out of the car to capture the redhead in a hug.

"I don't know..." Nyx mumbled into Ashelin's shoulder.

Ashelin hugged back awkwardly, looking over Nyx to see Damas' broken body in the back of Sig's car. It was always hard seeing a friend die...

"Sig says you were friends..." Nyx said, catching Ashelin staring. 

Ashelin nodded, breaking her gaze with Damas' body. "He saved me, once. Listen, I... There's something you need to know about him. And Jak..."

"I know," Nyx said. "Jak is Damas' son, we already figured that one out... How do you know?"

"I've always known," replied Ashelin, sounding a bit guilty. "I could've returned the boy to him at anytime, but I wanted to put him on the throne, so that Damas and his people could come back to Haven... Maybe I shouldn't have been so short-sighted..."

Nyx shook her head. "It was a noble goal. And I'm sure he would have appreciated that,"

Ashelin sighed. "It doesn't matter, now... You two should probably take him back to Spargus..."

"That's the plan," Nyx replied quietly.

"Then don't let me keep you any longer. Let me know if Jak checks in, too," Ashelin said. 

Nyx nodded. "Will do,"

Ashelin nodded to them, and motioned for the guards to open the gates. Nyx climbed back into Sig's vehicle, and they headed out of Haven, back towards the Wastelands. 

It was a long drive, and they spent most of it in complete silence. But they made it to Spargus without incident, pulling into the garage to find that thankfully no one was there. "Now, remember, cherry; Don't cry," Sig reminded Nyx as he lifted Damas from the back of his car.

Nyx nodded, though she knew that would be easier said than done. With her heart feeling heavy and awful, they began making their way into Spargus. As much as she wanted to curl into herself and cry, Nyx forced herself to stand tall, walking next to Sig as calmly as she could. 

People took notice rather quickly that Sig was carrying the broken and lifeless body of their leader. There were gasps and cries, and disbelieving sighs. None of these reactions made it easier for Nyx to keep calm, but she tried her hardest to ignore them, and just keep walking. 

Sig's destination was the Spargan mortician, and the poor woman looked absolutely horrified to see Damas' body being brought to her. But as a true Wastelander, she kept her cool, and set about preparing the supplies she was going to need, brushing gray hair from her face and pulling on her smock. 

Once Damas' body was safe with their mortician, Sig guided Nyx to Damas' throne room, where they could have a bit of privacy. "You did good, cherry," said Sig once they were inside. "Being a Wastelander isn't about not having emotions, it's about not letting those emotions overcome you,"

Nyx snorted. "Thanks,"

"You gonna need a moment? Or should we head back out to try figuring out where Jak went?" Sig asked. 

Nyx hummed. "I don't think we can follow him, now... Those subrails can't be traveled with normal vehicles... I think we shoul-"

The doors to the throne room suddenly opened, and Cece rushed in. "Sig! There's some huge abomination out in the Wastes... And there's a car chasing after it, according to the artifact guys who drove past..."

Nyx looked over to Sig, both of them thinking the same thing. "Jak,"

Wasting not another second, Nyx reached for her communicator. "Ashelin, it's Nyx. Just got word that Jak's out here in the Wasteland, fighting some huge Dark Maker abomination,"

"Copy that, I'm on my way," Ashelin replied. 

"Alright, cherry, come on. Let's go see what kinda trouble Jak's gotten himself into this time," said Sig, already heading past Cece towards the elevator.

Nyx rushed after him, giving Cece a quick shoulder squeeze as she went. "We'll be back, Cece! Hold down the fort for us!"

Neither of them paused to give Cece time to respond to that, simply leaving her in the throne room to ponder what 'holding down the fort' meant. Nyx and Sig made a beeline back for the garage, piling back into Sig's buggie to zoom out into the Wastelands. 

They didn't have to ask for directions. The giant Dark Maker abomination was easy to spot, despite being so far away from the city. As Nyx and Sig started driving towards it, an explosion sounded, and smoke towered into the air. They watched as a smaller (but still massive) piece of the machine began to fly away. It was damaged, however, and soon crash landed a short distance away. 

Sig directed their course for the crash site, and stepped hard on the gas. They - Along with Ashelin and Jak - Were probably the only idiots actually going towards the giant death machine...

When they arrived, they saw that the huge machine had a head that somehow resembled a dragon, and it appeared to be violently fighting with something that was atop it; No doubt Jak. 

Ashelin arrived at their location not long afterwards, and the three silently watched, wishing they could see more than just the large dragon-like head thrashing about. 

It felt like a long time later, but eventually fire erupted in the dragon head, and it spread throughout the machine, creating a huge explosion that engulfed it, and sent a huge shockwave through the air. Dust went up in a huge cloud, causing the three spectators to duck away and shield their eyes. 

It took a moment for the realization of what had just happened to sink into Nyx's mind. But once she realized it, she instantly became alarmed and panicked. "Jak!"

Ashelin stopped her from trying to run in the general direction of the machine, capturing her shoulders with firm hands. There was still too much dust and smoke in the air, they couldn't see anything yet... Ashelin held Nyx by her shoulders, waiting for the air to clear and refusing to let her go until it did.

And when it finally did, it revealed two figures slowly striding towards them. One human, and the other ottsel. Ashelin let go of Nyx's shoulders, and let her sprint full-force into Jak's arms. 

"You asshole!" Nyx hissed. "Don't scare me like that ever again!"

Jak chuckled at her. "I told you I'd come back, didn't I?"

Nyx looked like she wanted to be angry for a moment. But then she gave up, and settled on kissing Jak instead. At their feet, Daxter grinned. 

Oh yeah, they'd done it again. Chalk another one up for Jak, Daxter, and Nyx. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So. The Precursors are... Ottsels..." Nyx said, staring at the three ottsels and the giant ship they'd somehow flown into the Spargus arena. 

"Yup," Jak replied, having no idea what else to say to that. He was still having a hard time believing it himself.

"And Veger managed to turn himself into one...?" Nyx asked slowly, glancing towards the gray ottsel that Kleiver was antagonizing. 

"Mhm," Jak hummed. 

Nyx was silent for a moment as they stood before the Precursors. "Okay, then... And I thought life couldn't get any weirder..."

Jak suppressed a laugh as the chubby Precursor who seemed to be their leader began to talk. "Thank you, brave people of this planet. Onin, Samos, and all. Your strength and wisdom in these dark times give us reason to fight on,"

"My life's work, it turns out, was spent searching for a bunch of furballs..." Samos mumbled, shaking his head. 

"Onin says it's a great day for the universe!" Pecker chimed, motioning wildly with his wings.

"Jak, Daxter, Nyx... You are the greatest of heroes," said the large Precursor. "You have turned the tide against the Dark Makers, and together, we will win this war,"

The Precursor with the goatee then spoke up, motioning vividly. "But dude, there are like. Way more challenges in the future,"

"Ah uh... Or was it the past...?" mumbled the other Precursor, who seemed to be wearing some big metal thing over most of his face.

"Yes, yes! I was getting to that!" barked the Precursor leader.

Jak crossed his arms and tried hard to not grin. "More adventures? Where have I heard that before?"

"We need heroes like you three, to help us protect the universe," said the large Precursor. "Come with us, and we can show you great things,"

Jak looked to Nyx as the Precursors offered to take them along. She stared back at him for a moment, before shaking her head. "I've fought hard for these people and this planet... I'm not leaving it... Not even to be with the Gods of my universe..."

There was fear behind her voice, even though her words were decided. Haven was her home, and Spargus had become like one, too. And she couldn't just leave Torn behind like that... But she was terrified that Jak was going to go with them. Was going to leave her.

Jak looked behind him to Dax, silently asking the same question. Daxter gave an indifferent shrug and flopped into the lap of Tess. "Naahh. I got all I need right here, baby,"

"Then I'm not going, either. I'm sorry..." said Jak, turning back to the Precursors and wrapping an arm around Nyx's waist. "Everything I could ever need is right here, too..."

"We owe you three much," said the large Precursor as he nodded. "For all you've done. For your bravery in the face of incredible danger, we shall grant you each your deepest desires,"

Daxter's eyes fell to the floor for a moment as this offer was made, looking like he was considering something massive. Then he looked back up as the moment faded. "Y'know. I could really use a snazzy pair of pants, like yours!"

The yellow staff the large Precursor held began to glow, and with it, he cast a beam of yellow light onto Daxter. When it faded, Daxter was wearing a pair of blue jeans. He turned around immediately to look at his own ass, as Tess ogled him. 

"Wow!" Tess gasped. "Those are sharp! I wish I had a pair just like that!"

"Be careful what you wish for..." said the Precursor leader, and then cast the same beam of bright yellow light onto Tess.

When it faded away, Tess was a lot smaller than she'd previously been. A lot furrier, too. She looked shocked for a moment, to have become an ottsel, but then Daxter gave a whistle, and pulled her to her feet. 

"Don't worry, honey," said Daxter. "You get used to it. Oh, and ya may wanna shave some parts..."

Tess then smiled wide as Daxter pulled her in for their first kiss. This was perhaps something she could definitely get used to...

"And you, Nyx?" asked the Precursor leader. "What is it that you desire?"

Nyx had to think about it for a moment. Was there anything she wanted that she would have to ask divine beings for? She stared at the ground as she thought about the one thing that came to her mind. She then turned to look at Jak. "Jak... Damas..."

Jak looked to her solemnly. "I was thinking the same thing, but... No... We shouldn't play with fate like that... His people already think he's dead..."

Nyx stared at him with a broken look for a good few moments. "You deserve the chance to know your father, Jak..."

"I did," said Jak. "Maybe not the way most people know their fathers, but I knew him. That's... Enough for me..."

"Are you sure? Because you're everything to me, Jak... There's nothing else in this universe I want more than for you to be happy,"

"I am happy," Jak replied, his tone decided and firm as he stared into Nyx's eyes. 

Nyx kept staring at him for a moment more, before smiling and then looking to the Precursors. "I guess we've already got everything we need, right here..."

The large Precursor nodded. "As you wish. You have turned the tides of fate itself on this day. And we will forever thank you. There are still many trials ahead of you, but I have no doubt that you will overcome them,"

And with those words, the Precursors began to walk back to their ship. "Good luck, my friends. Perhaps we will see each other sometime soon,"

All in attendance watched as the Precursors headed back into their ship, and it began to rise into the air. Leaving a trail of smoke behind it, the Precursor vessel climbed into the atmosphere, until it completely disappeared from view. 

"So I know we're not done saving the world and all, according to those Precursors, but... Think we can catch ourselves a little break?" Nyx asked as the smoke from the ship dissipated. 

Jak chuckled and pulled her close. "I sure hope so,"

"I say this calls for a celebration!" Daxter cheered. "Who's with me!? All drinks are on the house!"

Jak, Nyx, and Tess laughed quietly at their overenthusiastic friend. "Do we even have any stock left, Daxxie?" Tess asked.

"Sure we do!" exclaimed Daxter, and then mumbled an addition. "Enough to get us all drunk tonight, anyways..."

Nyx shook her head, and then decided to turn her attention to something much more interesting than Daxter's desire to get drunk. "So how's it feel to be furry, Tess?"

"It's... Kinda weird, but. I could get used to it..." Tess replied. "How do I look?"

"Okay, if I'm being honest... You look adorable... I want to hug you..." Nyx admitted, her fingers twitching towards the blonde ottsel.

Tess 'pssh'd at her, and raised her arms for a hug. "Have you ever had to ask permission to hug me?"

Nyx laughed and scooped the blonde ottsel into her arms, giving her a huge hug. Then she helped Tess climb up onto her right shoulder, which she knew would become the new ottsels favorite place, sooner or later. 

Tess wobbled a bit, trying to find her balance on her new perch. "Woah! Jeez, this is kinda weird..."

"You'll get used to it," said Daxter, leaping effortlessly to Jak's shoulder. "And trust me, you're gonna wanna be up there a lot, it's hard to keep up with people when you're that small,"

Tess eventually found a way to keep her balance and stay on Nyx's shoulder, and she grinned brightly. "Yeah! This is pretty nice!"

"See? Humans make great sidekicks, don't they?" Daxter asked. 

Nyx rolled her eyes as Tess laughed. "Guess they do,"

Daxter winked at her, and then yelled as loud as his ottsel lungs would let him. "Okay peeps, cronies, goons, logheads, and giant feathered idiots! Anyone who wants to celebrate and get drunk better follow us! 'Cause supplies are limited, baby!"

The three standing with Daxter laughed at him, as they started off for the arena doors. Pecker soon flew after them to start arguing with Daxter for calling him a 'giant feathered idiot'. 

Ashelin and Torn caught up with them moments later, with Keira, Samos, Onin, and Sig right behind them. Looked like everyone wanted to either celebrate, or take Daxter up on that offer to get drunk. Or maybe most of them just lived in Haven and needed to go back? But if you ever asked Daxter, he'd tell you that the entire city of Spargus followed him back to his bar to have a swinging party with him, where they celebrated and worshipped him as their God. 

And though they knew that there was a whole lot of work ahead of them, and many uncertain trials that they'd have to face, everyone was feeling in pretty high spirits. After all, they'd just fought off the literal end of the world, and completely reclaimed the future.

Who wouldn't feel a little euphoric after doing that?


	23. Epilogue - To Make A Better Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few months since the destruction of the Dark Maker ship, and things are finally getting back to normal in Haven City. Everyone is in high spirits, even Jak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the final chapter! Though there will of course be bonus ones coming!
> 
> There will also be a JakX fic coming! I'm going to be doing it for NaNoWriMo, so you won't be seeing it anywhere until probably December. But it's coming, and it's gonna be good!

"So uh. Are we sure that Errol's dead?" Nyx asked, trying to make the question sound casual as she sweeped the floor of the Naughty Ottsel. 

"I would hope so," Jak replied, looking over at her from where he was wiping off tables and chairs. "That terraformer went up in a massive fireball... We could feel the heat even through my Light shield. I don't think Errol could have survived that..."

Nyx sighed. "We hope... It'd be too soon if I never saw that asshole for the rest of my life,"

Jak chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I don't think there's a reason to,"

Nyx glanced over at him and smiled. "Y'know, you've been pretty easy-going since we stopped the end of the world. Is it the Light Eco, or are you just that pleased with yourself?"

Jak laughed. "Maybe I'm just finally happy with how my life's looking,"

"Precursors know you deserve it," Nyx said, grabbing the dust pan to sweep up her current pile of floor debris. 

"We all deserve it," Jak corrected her. 

Nyx looked to him, and then nodded. Yeah, he was right. They all deserved it. 

The door of the Naughty Ottsel swung open, and in traipsed two orange ottsels. "Yo Jak-O! I gotta ton of shipments waitin' outside! Ya wanna haul 'em in here for me?"

Jak rolled his eyes at his best friend's demands, and set his cleaning rag down. "It's just one thing after another with you, isn't it? 'Jak, clean the bar. Jak, drag boxes in here.' Is it ever gonna stop?"

Even Daxter could see that Jak was in a particularly good mood today, and laughed at his pal's teasing. "Hey, there's only so much I can do when I'm barely three feet tall! Liftin' huge cases of alcohol bottles ain't one of 'em!"

Jak laughed and pat Daxter's head as he walked past him. "I know,"

Tess giggled as Daxter swatted at Jak's hand and then followed his friend outside. The female ottsel then bounded across the room to leap up onto Nyx's shoulder. "Hiya! How's it going?"

"Hmmmm. I'm cleaning your bar, even though I don't work here, and I have a Freedom League meeting with a bunch of beurocratic assholes later today... Yeah, I'm great," Nyx replied. "Things are finally getting back to normal around here, it's good,"

Tess laughed. "I'll see about getting you two some compensation for all the work Daxxie is making you do. But he's hoping to open the place back up by next week,"

Nyx waved off Tess' offer. "Don't worry about it, we don't mind. Daxter's right, only so much a small ottsel can do. Maybe you guys should hire some human help or something?"

"We're considering it. We've just gotta find the right people, you know?" replied Tess. "This place means a lot to Daxter,"

"I've noticed. It's one of the things in life he can call his own," said Nyx. "Something he can be proud of because he did it himself. I sometimes can't help but feel that maybe he's a little jealous of Jak, y'know?"

Tess nodded and hummed. "Yeah, but he doesn't blame Jak. He loves him so much. I blame other people for not seeing how amazing Daxxie is,"

"I agree. He's a great guy. Loudmouthed, arrogant, and egotistical, but... His heart's in the right place. He just... Can't keep his mouth shut..." Nyx said, trying to not laugh. 

Tess snickered. "It's one of his downfalls, but it's cute,"

Nyx hummed as Jak navigated his way back into the bar, carrying a nearly inhuman amount of alcohol cases in his arms. Daxter was perched on top of the cases, helping Jak navigate. 

Nyx and Tess watched as Jak successfully got the cases to the counter without dropping them or tripping, both a bit amazed by Jak's ability to carry insanely heavy things. 

"Sometimes I forget that Dark Eco makes him really strong... Those had to weigh more than he does..." Tess mumbled into Nyx's ear. "That was kinda hot to watch..."

Nyx tried her hardest to not burst out laughing. "He sure is something to admire, isn't he?"

"Dark Eco also improves my hearing, in case you didn't know," Jak said, smirking over at the two girls watching him. 

Nyx's face went visibly red, while Tess' furry face betrayed nothing other than her embarrassed expression. Daxter raised an eyebrow, clearly having not heard the exchange between Nyx and his girlfriend. "Did I miss somethin'?"

"They called me hot for lifting something heavier than I am," Jak explained.

Daxter then burst out into peals of laughter, leaning backwards and nearly falling off the alcohol cases. He covered his eyes with one hand as he laughed until he could barely breathe. It was contagious, and made Jak start chuckling slightly as he watched his best friend cackle.

"Hoo boy..." Daxter sighed as he tried to stop laughing. "That's a good one. I knew I kept you guys around for a good reason,"

Nyx rolled her eyes. "You keep us around because you love us and you need us to sweep your floors now,"

"Yeah, that, too," said Daxter, shrugging slightly. He then leaped off the cases of alcohol. "Now who's gonna help me unpack these?"

"I'm still sweeping," said Nyx. "And Jak's taller than I am..."

Jak rolled his eyes. "Looks like the job has befallen me,"

Daxter leaped up onto his shoulder and gave his head a pat. "When you're done, we'll all have a nice drink, okay? I promise,"

"Oh yeah, going to a Freedom League meeting drunk sounds great..." Nyx laughed. "Torn and Ashelin will appreciate that,"

Daxter waved a hand and 'pssh'd at her. "They don't gotta know. I got breath mints somewhere. They'll be none the wiser,"

"I think breath mints would be a little suspicious, Daxxie..." said Tess, hopping off Nyx's shoulder to go climb onto the bar and pat Daxter's shoulder. "Maybe after their meeting?"

Daxter sighed. "Okay, fine. Go to your stupid meetin' and then we'll all have a drink,"

Jak chuckled and started unloading all the bottles of alcohol to place them on the shelves behind the bar. "If I'm being honest, maybe being drunk will help us deal with those pig-headed politicians that are fighting against all the rebuilding we're doing,"

Nyx gave a dejected 'pfft' and started aggressively sweeping the floors again. "Those peanut-brained douchecanoes don't have any idea what they're talking about. It's not like they're the ones doing the rebuilding. They get to sit on plush-ass pillows on their plush-ass asses all day. I'm glad Ashelin's probably gonna fire most of them,"

"Yeah," Jak drawled. "I think Ashelin wants me to help with the Stadium rebuilding,"

"Probably. You're quick and strong, you can get more done than normal people. She probably just needs you to help clear out the rubble and stuff, though," said Nyx. 

Daxter hummed and pursed his lips. "The world ain't endin' anymore, and still this city needs us. Ah, will we ever get a break?"

"Who said you had to come with me?" Jak asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daxter started at him, looking mildly offended. "What? Ya think I'm gonna let ya go off by yourself? Nuh-Uh, that ain't how it works, Jakkie-Boy. We're a team,"

Jak rolled his eyes. "You have a bar to take care of, don't let me keep you from it,"

"Listen Jak. I love this bar. Really, I do. But y'know what I love more? You. Goin' on jobs and adventures with ya. Ya ain't stoppin' me,"

Nyx chuckled and looked to Tess. "They're adorable, aren't they?"

"They sure are!" Tess agreed, reaching over to pinch Daxter's cheek. 

"Hey! Hey! No pinchin' my face, I need that!" Daxter protested. 

Tess giggled at Daxter, and ruffled the fur atop his head. "You're so cute, Dax,"

"No, no," Daxter said, shaking his head. "I am a handsome devil, get it right,"

"Okay, okay, you're a very handsome little devil," purred Tess, scratching behind one of Daxter's ears. 

Jak rolled his eyes and nudged Daxter with a bottle of wine as the ottsel melted under Tess' fingers. "Do you two need to go upstairs?"

"What? What? Nooo, noo. We're fine, we're fine," babbled Daxter, slipping out from under Tess' hands to leap to Jak's shoulder like an oversized cat. "C'mon, it ain't like you and Nyx haven't done some mushy flirtin' in public,"

"Yeah, but Jak doesn't melt like a snowman in summer like you do," Nyx teased, sweeping up the final pile of debris and ottsel fur. 

Daxter swiveled to stare at her, looking rather embarrassed. "Hey! It ain't my fault the ears are a sensitive spot!"

"You don't melt when I do that," grinned Nyx, setting aside her broom. 

A slight tint of red could been seen under Daxter's fur, and he quietly slipped off Jak's shoulder to escape into the kitchen. 

Everyone else laughed quietly as Daxter went. It was kinda fun to embarrass him, when he usually acted so high and mighty. 

"He's such a goofball," Tess giggled, leaning into the alcohol cases to start handing them off to Jak, to give him a hand with them. 

"Yeah, he is," Jak agreed. "You should've seen him when we were kids,"

Tess gasped. "Oooh! I would kill to see a little Daxter!"

"No!" Daxter yelled from the kitchen. "No! Nobody needs to see that!"

Jak chuckled. "What? Embarrassed by the freckles and buck teeth?"

"Yes!" shouted Daxter.

"He had buck teeth?" Tess questioned. "That's so cute!"

Nyx chuckled. "So he was a redhead, I take it?"

Jak hummed. "Sort of. His hair was mostly blond, but it faded to red at the ends. Almost like a reverse of mine,"

"Wish I coulda seen him back then," Nyx mused. "Bet he was an awkward kid, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Jak teased.

Daxter then burst back into the main bar. "Okay, that's it! The two of ya have a meetin' to go to! So go to it!"

Jak and Nyx laughed as Daxter jabbed a finger towards the door. "What about the rest of these bottles?" Jak asked. 

"I'll figure it out," said Daxter. "Now go!"

Jak laughed and held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay. We're going. See you later, Dax,"

Nyx followed Jak out of the bar, laughing quietly as she went. It was always a good day when they embarrassed Daxter enough to make him kick them out. 

"So when's that meeting?" Jak asked. 

Nyx pulled out her communicator to check. "'Bout an hour,"

Jak hummed. "Think we got time to make it home and...?"

Nyx grinned. "Yeah,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well that went better than expected," Nyx said as she sat down at the bar and took the drink that Daxter offered her. 

Jak sat down next to her and accepted whatever drink Daxter slid him. "Yeah, I was expecting the whole room to go up in flames,"

"I think the kickassness of you, Torn, and Ashelin all in the same room was too much for that guy to bear," Nyx laughed, sipping from whatever fruity concoction Daxter had made. 

Jak snorted. "You're the one who told him to shove his policies up his ass,"

"Yeah, okay, so I did," drawled Nyx. "But you looked ready to snap his neck. He kept looking over at you like he expected you to pounce,"

"I considered it," said Jak, grinning slightly. 

Daxter shook his head. "Somethin' tells me that this is not at all how government and politics are supposed to work..."

Nyx shrugged. "Works for us. If we're lucky, the Stadium will be finished within the next two months,"

"And how long we been workin' on that bad boy?" Daxter asked.

"Three," said Jak. "Getting everyone involved to authorize stuff has been hell,"

Nyx hummed, clearly not impressed by that fact. "But now we've got the okay from the big leader of the whole thing. So progress will start picking up again,"

"Well, that calls for a celebration then, doesn't it?" asked Tess, sashaying into the room with a tray in her hands. She set it up onto the table, revealing that she'd made chocolate cake. 

"Oooh, spoiling us, are ya, babe?" Daxter asked, eyeing the gooey chocolatey messes that were the cake pieces. 

Tess nodded. "I figure we could all use something sweet once in a while!"

"Didn't you make pie literally just two days ago?" Jak questioned. 

Tess shrugged as Daxter dragged a plate off the tray to start shoveling chocolate into his mouth. "Are ya questionin' free cake?" Daxter asked through a mouthful of confectionary goodness.

Jak snorted and reached for a plate, sliding it over to Nyx before grabbing his own. "Don't make a habit out of this, I have a figure to keep up, you know,"

Nyx laughed. "I don't think you have to worry about that. With all the running around you do, one piece of cake is not gonna destroy you,"

"Yeah!" Daxter said, the word barely understandable, as it was muffled by cake. He then swallowed. "If ya ask me, ya could do with some extra weight! You're too skinny,"

Jak shrugged and swallowed a mouthful of chocolate cake and nudged Nyx's side. "I don't see her complaining,"

Nyx snorted, almost choking on cake. "No, you don't. Because I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Most girls would kill for a guy half as attractive as you are. I think you'd topple a crowd of teenagers just by not wearing sleeves,"

"I haven't worn sleeves in over six months, though," said Jak. 

"My point exactly. Have you seen other women ogling you?" Nyx asked, glancing up at Jak with an eyebrow raised. 

Jak was quiet for a moment. "No...?"

Daxter laughed and almost choked, having to reel himself in and swallow before he could properly express how funny he found that. "You're tellin' me ya don't notice when other women stare at ya? It's so obvious!"

Jak's face had gone red by now, and he was suddenly very interested in the cake. "I don't really look at other women unless they're involved in whatever I'm doing... Even then I don't really... Look,"

"Awww, " Tess cooed. "There's nothing better than a faithful man!"

Nyx snorted. "Like I ever doubted him. Have you seen the rack Ashelin has? He's never stared. Not once. Meanwhile, Torn steals a glance at least twice every twenty minutes,"

"I dunno what's weirder..." said Daxter. "The fact that you notice when Torn steals a peek, or the fact that you yourself have noticed Ashelin's rack..."

Nyx laughed. "Girls always notice what other girls have going on. Right, Tess?"

"Absolutely," agreed Tess. "We're always wondering if that other girls got better boobs than us,"

Jak stifled a laugh by shoving another forkful of cake into his mouth. Guys didn't really do that, did they? At least, he didn't. 

"And I have seen some pretty rocking women staring at you, Jak. And you don't even notice them?" Nyx asked poking Jak with the handle of her fork.

"Nope," Jak replied. "They couldn't even compare to you,"

Nyx snorted and hummed, trying to not look embarrassed. "Thanks. Sometimes I used to wonder what I've got that those women don't, but not anymore. I get it now; Why you picked me,"

"Good," said Jak. "I'd hate having to explain it to you. I don't think I could do it right,"

"Well, you don't have to," replied Nyx, leaning her head onto Jak's shoulder.

"Aawwww, lookit you two!" cooed Daxter. "You're the perfect match!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "And what about you and Tess? I didn't think it was possible for a woman to be able to put up with you,"

Daxter gave a mock glare, fully registering that Jak was joking. "Hey! The ladies love Orange Lightning! I'm irresistible!"

Tess leaned over to pet Daxter's head. "You sure are,"

Daxter purred and gave Jak a look. "See? I am the definition of a ladies man!"

Jak snorted and Nyx gave a soft laugh. "Haven't seen you flirt with anyone else lately," said Jak.

"Well yeah, that's cause I'm taken!" protested Daxter. "Ya don't flirt when ya got someone waitin' at home for ya!"

"Well lookit that, you're both faithful gentlemen," purred Tess. 

"I dunno about gentlemen, Tess..." snickered Nyx. "You haven't seen Jak leave a trail of clothes that lead to the bathroom,"

Jak groaned. "I don't do that anymore,"

"But you used to," teased Nyx. 

"Messy teenage boys, right?" asked Tess.

"Mhm," Nyx agreed. "I'm glad he finally learned to at least put his dirty clothes in a pile somewhere,"

Jak scoffed. "You don't even use the dresser anymore. There's just a pile of clothes in the corner,"

"Yeah, but it's a pile. It's out of the way," argued Nyx. 

Jak laughed and slung an arm over her shoulder. "We're both giant messes, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Nyx agreed. "But I love you,"

"Love you, too," Jak responded. "I don't think these past two years would have been the same without you,"

Nyx laughed softly. "Same,"


End file.
